dinja
/dîɲa/Latin, feminine
The Croatian word for melon is dinja.
The term dinja is used to refer to cantaloupe or honeydew style melons. It is a feminine noun.
Meaning: fruit (noun)
Which one should you use?
The word lubenica is used specifically for watermelon, whereas dinja refers to cantaloupe or honeydew style melons.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of dinja is dinje.
How do you pronounce it?
/dîɲa/
Did you know?
- While dinja refers to the fruit, the word dinjati is a colloquial verb meaning to complain or moan incessantly.
- The word dinja shares a common root with the word for melon in almost every other Slavic language, such as the Russian дыня and Polish dynia.
- In some traditional rural dialects, a very small or underdeveloped dinja might be called a dinjica using a diminutive suffix.
Examples in context
- Jedan komad dinje, molim.One piece of melon, please.
- Obožavam jesti pravu dinju.I love to eat real melon.
- Imam neodoljivu želju za lubenicom!I have an irresistible craving for melon!
- Koja dinja je najslađa?Which melon is the sweetest?
- Zagrizao sam sočnu lubenicu i bila je nevjerojatno ukusna!I took a bite of a juicy melon, and it was incredibly delicious!
- Jeste li ikada probali pravu dinju iz Slavonije?Have you ever tasted a real melon from Slavonia?
- Ova dinja je zrelija od prethodne. Osjetite mekoću mesa!This melon is riper than the previous one. Feel the softness of the flesh!
- Trebam samo pola lubenice. Ne mogu pojesti cijelu!I only need half of the melon. I can't eat the whole thing!
- Ova dinja je jako slatka.This melon is very sweet.
Example conversation
Ivana and Marko are in the kitchen looking at fruit.
- IvanaJe li ova dinja dobra?Is this melon good?
- MarkoDa, vrlo je mirisna.Yes, it is very fragrant.
- IvanaHajde da je narežemo.Let's cut it.
- MarkoSlažem se, Ivana.I agree, Ivana.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “melon” translations and entries dinja, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
