Meaning
melon; claw; gourd; squash
Chinese: 瓜类植物或果实。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “gua” becomes a different word in each tone. 瓜 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 西瓜xī guāwatermelon
- 黄瓜huáng guācucumber
- 傻瓜shǎ guāidiot; fool
- 南瓜nán guāpumpkin
- 瓜子guā zǐmelon seed; seeds of pumpkin, watermelon or sunflower etc, roasted and flavored, consumed as a snack
Example Sentence
夏天吃一块冰镇西瓜，又凉又甜。Xià tiān chī yí kuài bīng zhèn xī guā, yòu liáng yòu tián.Eating a piece of chilled watermelon in summer is cool and sweet.
夏天Xià tiānsummer吃chīto eat一块yí kuàia piece冰镇bīng zhèniced西瓜xī guāwatermelon，又yòuagain凉liángcool又yòuagain甜tiánsweet。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of a melon hanging from its vine: the curving outer strokes are the vine and the centre is the fruit. It means ‘melon / gourd’.
A way to remember it
A fruit cradled in the curl of a vine — a melon.
Easy to confuse with
- 爪‘Claw’: a similar splayed frame, but without the fruit hanging in the middle.