瓜 (guā): melon; gourd; squash

Measure Word

一个瓜 gè

Meanings

1 melon; gourd; squash

Characters

瓜

guā

melon; gourd

Examples

夏天吃西瓜最舒服。

Xiàtiān chī xīguā zuì shūfu.

Eating watermelon in summer is the most comfortable.

这个瓜很大。

Zhège guā hěn dà.

This melon is very big.

你喜欢吃什么瓜？

Nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme guā?

What kind of melon do you like to eat?

Tips

culture

吃瓜群众 ('melon-eating masses') is a hugely popular Chinese internet slang for bystanders watching drama unfold — like eating watermelon seeds while watching a show. Often shortened to 吃瓜.

usage

瓜 appears in many fruit/vegetable names: 西瓜 (watermelon), 黄瓜 (cucumber), 南瓜 (pumpkin), 冬瓜 (winter melon).

Components

pictograph

瓜 guā

melon; gourd

Pictograph of a melon hanging from a vine — the outer two long strokes are the trailing tendrils, and the central 厶 is the fruit itself. 瓜 is Kangxi radical 97 and indexes the melon family: 瓢 ladle-gourd, 瓣 segment, 瓤 pulp. The shape has stayed remarkably stable since the seal script.

Radical

Melon Kangxi #97

A small radical group covering melons and gourd-shaped fruits. Productivity is low — almost every word a learner needs uses 瓜 itself as the head and another character for the type (西瓜, 南瓜, 黄瓜). The shape pictures a vine with one fruit hanging in the middle.