The Chinese word "霍尔木兹" is formed via phonetic transliteration of the foreign name "Hormuz", with each character chosen solely for its sound: "霍" (huò) approximates "Hor", "尔" (ěr) approximates the liquid sound, "木" (mù) approximates "mu", and "兹" (zī) approximates the "z" ending, resulting in a sequence that mimics the original pronunciation.