The Chinese word **梵蒂冈 (Fàndìgāng)** for "Vatican" is a **phonetic translation** formed by selecting characters whose modern Mandarin pronunciations closely approximate the sounds of the foreign name. The characters 梵 (fàn), 蒂 (dì), and 冈 (gāng) collectively mimic the syllables "Va-ti-can." Notably, the first character, 梵, is not phonetically arbitrary; it carries the meaning of "Buddhist" or "sacred," derived from its association with the Sanskrit word *Brahma*. This provides a subtle semantic layer of holiness or sanctity, making the transliteration both sound-based and mildly descriptive, which is a common strategy in Chinese for translating significant foreign place names.