The Chinese word 盎司 (àngsī) is a phonetic loanword formed through transliteration to represent the English unit of measurement "ounce". The characters were selected solely for their sound, "盎" (àng) approximates the "oun" syllable, and "司" (sī) approximates the "ce" syllable, while their original literal meanings (e.g., 盎 can mean "abundant" or a type of vessel) are entirely disregarded in this context. This is a standard method in Chinese for adopting foreign terms, especially for units, brands, or scientific concepts, where the pronunciation of the source word is prioritized over semantic meaning.