The Chinese word **平壤 (Píngrǎng)**, meaning Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea), is formed through a process of **phonetic-semantic translation**, where the Chinese characters are chosen primarily to approximate the sound of the original Korean name ("Pyongyang") while simultaneously conveying a positive and literal meaning. The character **平 (píng)** means "flat" or "peaceful," and **壤 (rǎng)** means "soil" or "land," together creating the literal meaning "flat land" or "peaceful soil," which descriptively matches the city's geographical characteristics on flat plains. This combination exemplifies a traditional approach in Chinese transliteration of foreign place names, where sound matching is harmonized with auspicious or descriptive literal meanings.