The word "美国" (Měiguó) for "America" is formed through a process of phonetic borrowing and semantic enhancement. The first character, "美" (měi), meaning "beautiful", is chosen primarily for its sound, which approximates the "Ame-" in "America". The second character, "国" (guó), meaning "country" or "nation", is added as a meaningful category label to clarify that the term refers to a nation-state. Thus, the compound literally translates as "beautiful country", creating a meaningful and auspicious name from an originally foreign sound.