Phonetic transliteration of 'Rachel':
瑞 (ruì, 'auspicious') for 'Ra-',
吉 (jí, 'lucky') for '-ch(el)', and
儿 (ér) softening the final consonant. The choice of
瑞 +
吉 is unusually flattering — both characters carry positive meanings — typical of Chinese transliterations of female Western names. Compare with the more standard
雷切尔 used in news translations.
