西瓜
sai¹ gwaa¹
The Cantonese word for watermelon is 西瓜 (sai¹ gwaa¹).
西瓜 is used to refer to the fruit watermelon.
Meaning: fruit (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the characters for 'western' (西) and 'melon' (瓜). Literally, it translates to 'western melon'.
How do you pronounce it?
sai¹ gwaa¹
Did you know?
- In Cantonese culture, giving 西瓜 as a gift is generally acceptable, but presenting it during a funeral is avoided because the red interior can symbolize joy or luck.
- In traditional Cantonese medicine, 西瓜 is believed to have 'cooling' properties, and is specifically eaten to combat 'heatiness' or inflammation during humid summers.
- Because the word contains the character for 'West', a person might mistakenly think it refers to a fruit from the West, even though watermelons actually originated in Africa.
Examples in context
- 我好鍾意食西瓜。I like to eat watermelon.This sentence shows how to express a liking for eating 西瓜.Tatoeba #402832 by nickyeow, translation #402802 by Hector005
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two people are talking about fruit at a market.
- 子健 Tsz Kin呢個西瓜好似好甜。ni1 go3 sai1 gwaa1 hou2 ci5 hou2 tim4.This watermelon looks very sweet.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting係呀，我想買個西瓜。hai6 aa3, ngo5 soeng2 maai5 go3 sai1 gwaa1.Yes, I want to buy a watermelon.
- 子健 Tsz Kin我哋買兩個西瓜好唔好？ngo5 dei6 maai5 loeng2 go3 sai1 gwaa1 hou2 m4 hou2?How about we buy two watermelons?
- 雅婷 Nga Ting好呀，子健，我哋買兩個。hou2 aa3, zi2 gin6, ngo5 dei6 maai5 loeng2 go3.Sure, Zi Jin, let's buy two.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “watermelon” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
