Translation guide
A gourd is a hard-shelled fruit often used as a container or decoration. In Japanese, the most common word is ひょうたん, but other terms exist for specific types or contexts.
Referring to the typical gourd with a hard shell, often dried and used as a container or decoration.
The most common and general word for gourd, especially the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). It can refer to the plant, the fruit, or the dried container.
Use a gourd as a water bottle.
Gourds are growing in the garden.
A literary or traditional term for gourd, often used in poetry or classical contexts. Can also refer to a gourd-shaped sake bottle.
Drink sake from a gourd.
Refers to the fruit of the bottle gourd, especially when used as a container or mask. Often seen in traditional crafts.
A mask made from a gourd.
Referring to small, decorative gourds often used in autumn displays.
Referring to the gourd whose fibrous interior is used as a bath sponge or scrubber.
Referring to the edible gourd with a bumpy surface and bitter taste, used in Asian cuisine.
Referring to the large, mild-flavored gourd used in soups and stews.
Wax gourd or winter melon. Often simmered in dashi or used in soups.
I made simmered winter melon.
Referring to the very long, slender gourd used as a vegetable.
Snake gourd, a long curved gourd. Not very common in Japan.
Snake gourds grow in the tropics.
The English word 'gourd' can sometimes refer to pumpkins and squash, but in Japanese, かぼちゃ (pumpkin) is distinct from ひょうたん. Use かぼちゃ for edible pumpkins and squash, and ひょうたん for hard-shelled, inedible gourds.
ひょうたん are often associated with good luck and are used as charms. You may see them at temples or as decorations.
The loofah flowers bloomed.
I don't like the bitterness of bitter melon.