The Chinese word 挪威 (Nuówēi) for "Norway" is formed through a process of phonetic approximation, where two characters are chosen primarily for how closely their pronunciation mimics the sound of the foreign name. The character 挪 (nuó) approximates the "Nor-" sound, while 威 (wēi) approximates the "-way" sound. This is a standard method in Chinese for transcribing foreign proper nouns, especially country names. Notably, the individual meanings of the characters (挪 can mean "to shift/move", and 威 can mean "power/prestige") are irrelevant to Norway's actual identity; they serve purely as phonetic symbols in this compound.