Wǒmen zài dòngwùyuán kàn dào le yī zhī jùdà de zōngxióng.
We saw a huge brown bear at the zoo.
Tips
memory
棕 (palm tree, but as an adjective "brown") + 熊 (bear) — literally "brown bear," same logic as English. Compare 黑熊 (hēixióng, black bear), 北极熊 (běijíxióng, polar bear), 灰熊 (huīxióng, grizzly — "grey bear").
culture
In China, the棕熊 (Eurasian brown bear) is found in the northeast, Tibet, and Xinjiang. Russia's national symbol is the棕熊 — Russian sports teams and political cartoons featuring the "Russian bear" are translated using 俄罗斯棕熊.