I know that Japanese allows this: there are words in reverse order where the placement of 2 kanji can be “flipped” within the same word while retaining a related definition, i.e. 栄光 (glory) & 光栄 (honor), more examples range from:
- 別離 (parting) & 離別 (separation)
- 関連 (connection) & 連関 (relation)
- 礼儀 (manners) & 儀礼 (ettiquette)
- 陸上 (landing) & 上陸 (ground)
- 発散 (emission) & 散発 (sporadic)
- 進行 (advance) & 行進 (parade)
- 議会 (assembly) & 会議 (meeting)
- 木材 (lumber) & 材木 (timber)
- 王国 (kingdom) & 国王 (monarch)
- 火花 (spark) & 花火 (fireworks)
- 明言 (statement) & 言明 (assertion)
- 論評 (criticism) & 評論 (critique)
You get the picture, but can you do the same thing with the English language for example? As well as other European languages in general?
Funny enough, I find scientific terms to be the easiest* to correctly guess the meaning of the first time I see them because a lot of them follow the similar rules and/or are word-for-word translations of the Latin/Greek root words. Especially if they’re not traditional vocabulary.
When I looked at the nutrition label and saw 炭水化物 ((char)coal water change substance), I immediately figured “carbohydrates.” I felt proud.
*assuming I already have knowledge of the English equivalent