The Chinese word 本杰明 is formed through phonetic translation, where each character is selected to approximate the sounds of the English name "Benjamin": 本 (běn) corresponds to "Ben", 杰 (jié) approximates "ja" or "je", and 明 (míng) matches "min". The characters are used solely for their sound values without regard to their original meanings, creating a transliterated term for the name.