This study examines the semantic features of component verbs in two types of compound words to elucidate the discrete conditions imposed on Japanese verbal compound nouns and compound verbs. V2, the second component verb in compound words, acts as the semantic head. With regard to semantic features, this study focuses on the change of state and punctual/durative aspectual property of V2 and evaluates whether verbal compound nouns differ from compound verbs in this respect. To this end, the

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... rences between the two constructs are scrutinized, and these dissimilarities are illuminated through the use of Beaver's (2013Beaver's ( , 2008) ) predictive model of aspectual classes, which is grounded in theories of scalar change. This paper argues that the distinctions observed between the two forms of compounded words may be attributed to the extent of the specificity of the endpoint along the scale, and a scale's mereological complexity with regard to V2. In addition, the differences pertaining to V2 in the two types of compound words are shown to be tied to differences in terms of event structure. For example, V2 can appear easily in compound verbal nouns if its causing event is lexically specified. In sum, this study concludes that the differences observed in a verb's semantic class are also reflected in the process of the formation of the word. The outcomes of the study further suggest that a semantic approach is effective in determining the mechanism that differentiates compound verbal nouns from compound verbs.