<P> The red panda's local names differ from place to place . The Lepcha call it sak nam . In Nepal, it is called bhalu biralo (bear - cat) and habre . The Sherpa people of Nepal and Sikkim call it ye niglva ponva and wah donka . The word wậː is Sunuwari meaning bear; in Tamang language, a small, red bear is called tāwām . In the Kanchenjunga region of eastern Nepal, the Limbus know red pandas as kaala (literally "dark") because of their underside pelage; villagers of Tibetan origin call them hoptongar . </P> <P> Additionally, Pocock lists the vernacular names ye and nigálya ponya (Nepal); thokya and thongwa (Limbu); oakdonga or wakdonka and woker (Bhotia); saknam sunam (Lepcha). Nigálya may originate from the Nepali word निङालो niṅālo or nĩgālo, a small bamboo, Arundinaria intermedia, but also refers to a kind of small leopard, or cat - bear . The word pónya may originate from the Nepali पञ्जा pajā ("claw") or पौँजा paũjā ("paw"). Nigálya pónya may translate to "bamboo claw / paw". Nigálya pónya, nyala ponga, and poonya are also said to mean "eater of bamboo". The name panda could originate from panjā . </P> <P> In modern Chinese, the red panda is called xiăoxióngmāo (小 熊猫 / 小 熊貓, lesser or small panda), or 红 熊猫 / 紅 熊貓 (hóngxióngmāo, red panda). In contrast, the giant panda is called dàxióngmāo (大 熊猫 / 大 熊貓, giant or big panda), or simply xióngmāo (熊猫 / 熊貓, panda, literally bear - cat). </P> <P> In English, the red panda is also called lesser panda (since it is smaller than the giant panda), though "red" is more commonly used nowadays . As it was known in the West decades before the giant panda, initially it was the red panda that was simply called "panda". When distinction became necessary, the red panda was still considered the true panda and common panda . </P>

How do you say red panda in chinese