Kanji quizzes for the joy of reading
How do you read 南瓜 in Japanese?
A familiar vegetable written south and melon.
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Unfamiliar kanji? Scan and look it up.Explore the OCR & AI dictionaryHow do you read this in Japanese?
Give the vegetable name beginning with ka.
HINTShow hint
A vegetable with yellow or orange flesh, often used in simmered dishes and soups.
More on radicals and this quiz’s stroke counts
Describe the shapes you see
You do not need to know the radical’s name. Try these searches for this quiz’s characters.
南 and 瓜 vegetable kanji
南 followed by melon kanji reading
南瓜 vegetable name starting with ka
These searches describe visual similarities, not formal radicals or character components.
南 has 9 strokes and the radical 十 (ten). 瓜 has 6 strokes and the radical 瓜 (melon). Radicals are dictionary classifications. The shape-based search phrases below provide other lookup clues.
南9 strokes / radical: 十 (ten)
瓜6 strokes / radical: 瓜 (melon)
Stroke counts and radicals follow the Japanese dictionary Kanjipedia; other dictionaries may differ.
ANSWERShow answerHide answer
The answer is
かぼちゃ
kabocha
南瓜
Understand the meaning
English translationPumpkin / squash
A squash plant and its fruit, with seeds inside and flesh used in many dishes.
See it in a sentence
夕食には、南瓜をやわらかく煮て添えた。For dinner, I served kabocha simmered until tender.
A way to remember
Here it is kabocha; nankin is another name. Do not simply read 南 as minami.
Sources：Kanjipedia: 南瓜
The explanation draws on the sources below. Examples were written for this page.
Explore the word further
Using 南瓜
南瓜を切る and 南瓜を煮る pair the name with cooking actions. In a garden scene, the focus may instead be on vines or fruit.
例：収穫した南瓜を台所に運び、家族で料理を考えた。
We carried the harvested squash into the kitchen and discussed what to cook as a family.
Reading and meaning in context
The everyday reading of the pair is かぼちゃ. Before interpreting 南 as a direction, check whether the passage names a plant or food.
References for this explanation：Kanjipedia: 南瓜
Explanation checked on 2026-10-23. Additional examples were written by DuraRing for this page.
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