Why Peanut milk Sounds Wrong in English

[EN] Grammar breakdown: "Peanut milk" is a noun+noun compound, which is grammatically acceptable in English (e.g., "almond milk", "soy milk"). The issue is not syntax but semantic mismatch. Chinese "花生浆" uses "浆" (thick liquid/paste) rather than "奶" (milk). The calque from Chinese would be "peanut pulp" or "peanut paste drink." But English speakers default to "peanut milk" as a plant-based milk term. Word order is fine; missing articles are irrelevant since it's a countable noun used as a generic item. Prepositions are absent. Verb tense not involved. The deeper linguistic pattern is "translation by analogous category": Chinese sees "浆" as a category distinct from "奶", but English menus force it into the "milk" category for simplicity. A more accurate Chinglish version would be "Peanut Pulp" (直译), but that sounds unappetizing. The calque pattern is: Chinese semantic frame (浆 = thick, grainy, unstrained) → English lexical frame (milk = smooth, liquid, dairy alternative) → clash. [中文] 语法分析："Peanut milk" 在英语句法上完全正确，属于“名词+名词”复合词（如 almond milk, soy milk）。问题出在语义错位。中文“花生浆”的“浆”字表示的是一种粘稠、含悬浮颗粒的流质，类似于“豆浆”但更浓；而“奶”（milk）在中文饮品中常指含乳制品或仿乳制品的顺滑液体（如“核桃奶”、“花生奶”是加了奶粉和糖的饮料）。所以“花生浆”如果按英文逻辑应译作 “peanut gruel” 或 “peanut smoothie（未过滤版）”。然而很多中国餐馆老板直接用“peanut milk”来套，因为知道“soy milk”是豆浆，所以类比出“peanut milk”。语法上缺失冠词？不需要，因为这是菜单项，通常不加冠词。介词、语态都没有涉及。深层结构是“翻译中的类别借用”：中文将“浆”视为一个独立类别，英文词汇中没有完全对应的词，于是用最接近的“milk”来强行对应，造成了概念混淆。这是典型的“语义范畴错位”型Chinglish。