南瓜
nánguā
南瓜 (nánguā) is the Chinese word for pumpkin.
The word refers to the fruit of the pumpkin plant.
Meaning: fruit of this plant (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
南瓜 is composed of 南 (nán), meaning 'south' and 瓜 (guā), meaning 'melon' or 'gourd'.
Which one should you use?
南瓜 is the standard term, while 南瓜儿 uses a suffix to create a warmer, more casual tone.
How do you pronounce it?
nánguā
Did you know?
- The word 瓜 serves as a modern internet slang term for 'gossip' or 'drama', turning the literal fruit into a metaphor for juicy secrets.
- Though pumpkins are now common, they are not native to China and were introduced from the Americas, which is why the name 南瓜 specifies their origin from the 'south'.
- While 'pumpkin' is a specific fruit in English, the Chinese character 瓜 groups it linguistically with cucumbers and watermelons as a type of 'melon'.
Examples in context
- 我喜歡喝南瓜湯。I like to drink pumpkin soup.This sentence shows how to use 南瓜 when talking about pumpkin soup.Tatoeba #5401363 by xjjAstrus, translation #5573356 by n1ls
- 我喜欢吃南瓜汤。I like to eat pumpkin soup.
- 请给我一块南瓜糕点。Please give me a piece of pumpkin pastry.
- 我们要去南瓜地买新鲜的南瓜。We're going to the pumpkin patch to buy fresh pumpkins.
- 這個南瓜很大。zhège nánguā hěn dà.This pumpkin is very big.
- 桌上有一個南瓜。zhuō shàng yǒu yīgè nánguā.There is a pumpkin on the table.
Example conversation
At a grocery store.
- 伟 Wei妳想買南瓜嗎？Nǐ xiǎng mǎi nánguā ma?Do you want to buy a pumpkin?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我想，這個南瓜看起來很新鮮。Wǒ xiǎng, zhège nánguā kàn qǐlái hěn xīnxiān.I think so, this pumpkin looks very fresh.
- 伟 Wei那我們買這個吧。Nà wǒmen mǎi zhège ba.Then let's buy this one.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好，我們去結帳吧。Hǎo, wǒmen qù jiézhàng ba.Okay, let's go pay.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pumpkin” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
