冬瓜 (dōng guā) — wax gourd, white gourd (a type of squash commonly used in Chinese cooking)

Definition

noun
wax gourdwhite gourd (a type of squash commonly used in Chinese cooking)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 冬瓜
    Wǒ mǎi le bàn gè dōng guā, zhǔn bèi zuò tāng.
    I bought half a wax gourd and plan to make soup.
  • 冬瓜
    dōng guā Qù pí yǐ hòu qiē chéng xiǎo kuài r.
    After peeling the white gourd, cut it into small pieces.
  • 冬瓜
    Xià tiān hē dōng guā tāng kě yǐ qīng rè jiě shǔ.
    Drinking wax gourd soup in summer can help cool the body and relieve heat.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

dōngwinter
guāmelon

冬 adds winter and 瓜 adds melon, describing a melon associated with winter.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 冬 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 瓜 is drawn from a melon hanging from its vines, which matches its meaning.

Open 瓜 →
Appears in

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