西瓜

Chinese

		west	melon; claw; gourd melon; claw; gourd; squash
trad. (西瓜)		西	瓜
simp. #(西瓜)		西	瓜
Literally: “western melon”.

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 西瓜

1. watermelon

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (西瓜):

• → Japanese: 西瓜(すいか) (suika)
• → Korean: 서과(西瓜) (seogwa)

Others:

• → Mongolian: шийгуа (šiigua)
• → Zhuang: sihgvah

(deprecated template usage)

---

Japanese

Kanji in this term
西	瓜
すい Grade: 2	か Jinmeiyō
tōon	on'yomi

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle Chinese compound 西瓜 (sej kwæ, literally “west + melon”). Compare modern (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Mandarin 西瓜 (xīguā, “watermelon”). sui is the 唐音 of 西. There is an alternative spelling of 水瓜, which may be seen as both ateji and a calque of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] English watermelon.

Noun

西(すい)瓜(か) or 西瓜(スイカ) • (suika) ^{←すいくわ (suikwa)?}

1. watermelon

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 西瓜糖(すいかとう) (suikatō, “watermelon sugar, sugar made by concentrating watermelon juice”)
• 西瓜割(すいかわ)り (suikawari, “a traditional Japanese game that involves splitting a watermelon with a stick whilst blindfolded”)

---

Okinawan

Kanji in this term
西	瓜
しー Grade: 2	くゎ Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɕiːkʷa/

Noun

西(しー)瓜(くゎ) or 西瓜(シークヮ) (shīkwa) 

1. watermelon

   Synonym: 広東瓜 (kwantuui)

References

• “シークヮ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).