The Chinese word **曼谷 (Màngǔ)** for "Bangkok" is formed through a process of **phonetic translation**, where characters are chosen primarily for how closely their pronunciation approximates the sounds of the foreign name. The characters 曼 (màn) and 谷 (gǔ) were selected to mimic the sound "Bang-kok," with a historical adaptation to Mandarin phonology from its likely original source in the Thai name **"Krung Thep"** or the older Western rendering "Bangkok." While the individual characters carry their own meanings (曼 can mean "graceful/long," and 谷 means "valley"), these meanings are generally incidental and not descriptive of the city itself; the primary function of the characters here is to represent sound.