A friend just came back from Taiwan where he (somehow) met a local bear expert. The man told him:

"On the mainland they call pandas 'xióng māo' 熊猫, but here in Taiwan we say 'māo xióng' 猫熊.

"Regional differences are common in the Chinese-speaking world (e.g. spoon). But what's notable about this example is the man's explanation for why they say "māo xióng" 猫熊 in Taiwan.

He said, "We think the adjective should be first and then the noun second. It's not a 'bear cat'. So we call it a 'cat bear.'"I've often wondered about this little inconsistency in Chinese: sometimes compound words put the noun first (like the mainland word for "panda"), but usually (it seems to me) the noun is second like it would be in English.For example:

ADJ + N

• yá shuā 牙刷 = toothbrush [tooth brush]

N + ADJ

• xiàn sù 限速 = speed limit [limit speed]

I should clarify: in a language where words can be nouns, verbs, and adjectives all at once, what I'm talking about here is their function. In other words:

ADJ + N

• "It's a brush. What kind of brush? A tooth brush."

N + ADJ

• "It's a speed. What kind of speed? A limit speed." (seems to break the rule)

And that's the bear man's (what kind of man?) point:

• "It's a bear. What kind of bear? A cat bear."

Let's ignore for a moment what "cat" has to do with pandas, and concede the man his point. But does that mean they also say "speed limit" differently in Taiwan? I would guess not because there is precedent in the language for N + ADJ construction of compound words (even though I've stricken through the above red line).Can anyone:

• Confirm / deny that "Panda" really is "māo xióng" 猫熊 in Taiwan?

• Give other examples of either N + ADJ compound words?

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