Skip to main content
red panda

red panda

1 3.7
A small animal with red-brown fur that lives in trees and eats bamboo
  • noun
  • /rɛd ˈpændə/
  • Indian
translation icon : panda rojo
  • The red panda is known for its distinctive reddish-brown fur and bushy tail.
  • two red pandas

Both the giant panda and the red panda both independently evolved a false thumb that acts as an opposable thumb.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • And there is the zoo, which I think has a brand new baby red panda.

    Blog text (25)
  • I'm a red panda.

  • Both the giant panda and the red panda both independently evolved a false thumb that acts as an opposable thumb.

  • At the zoo, the children excitedly gathered to watch the playful red panda climb the tree.

  • When visiting China, I was thrilled to see a red panda lounging in a tree at the conservation center.

Synonyms

panda
vsred panda
8 1.0

A small reddish-brown animal like a raccoon that lives in trees

is the clearer, more specific common name used to avoid confusion
Ailurus fulgens
vsred panda
  • Specialized
9.2

A small reddish-brown mammal that lives in the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China

is the everyday common-name form rather than the Latin term
lesser panda
vsred panda
  • Indian
6.2

A small reddish-brown animal like a raccoon that lives in trees in Asia

is the modern common name preferred in everyday use
cat bear
vsred panda
  • UK
8.4

A small reddish-brown animal like a raccoon that lives in the eastern Himalayas and eats bamboo

is the standard common name used in most references
Firefox
vsred panda
7.9

A small animal with reddish-brown fur that lives in trees in the Himalayas

is the neutral biological name rather than a playful label

Surface Forms

red panda singular
red pandas plural

Morphology

red + panda

The meaning is directly compositional: 'red' (a color) + 'panda' (the animal) yields a panda that is red or reddish. This simple color+noun descriptive pattern is cross-linguistically common and therefore a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the intended animal.

Etymology

The name red panda may come from a simple image: a small, tree-climbing animal with red fur that eats bamboo, so people called it a 'red' version of the panda. That's why the name points to its reddish colour and panda-like habits, even though it is a different animal.