The word "洛杉矶" (Luòshānjī) is formed as a phonetic loanword to represent the sound of the English city name "Los Angeles", where each character is chosen primarily for how its pronunciation approximates a syllable of the foreign name, "洛" for "Lo", "杉" for "s An", and "矶" for "geles", while the characters themselves were selectively matched to carry vaguely meaningful or neutral connotations (like "洛" suggesting a river network, "杉" for cedar, and "矶" for a rock or jetty) to create a cohesive and culturally resonant name, rather than a purely abstract sound sequence.