There are a number of processes relating to the formation of compound nouns, and these apply also to adjectives and verbs. There are basically four types of formation: synonym compounds, polar compounds, compounds with a modifier, and cumulative or sequential compounds.[1]

[1] The terminology concerning compound nouns used in my entries in the Reference Grammar is based on Melvyn C. Goldstein, Tibetan-English Dictionary of Modern Tibetan (Kathmandu, Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1983).