ひょうたん

ひょ

う

た

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

calabash; bottle gourd

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the plant Lagenaria siceraria, commonly grown for its fruit.

庭にわでひょうたんを育そだてています。
I'm growing bottle gourds in my garden.

noun

gourd container; calabash

usually written using kana alone

A container made from a dried gourd, traditionally used for carrying liquids.

昔むかしの旅たび人びとはひょうたんに水みずを入いれて持もち歩あるいた。
Travelers in the old days carried water in a gourd.

See all 18 example sentences ›

Expressions

瓢ひょう箪たんから駒こまsomething unexpected happening; a joke becoming reality; a horse from a gourd (lit.) · something impossible; something ridiculous
瓢ひょう箪たんから駒こまが出でるsomething unexpected happening; a joke becoming reality · something impossible; something ridiculous

Kanji

瓢gourd
箪bamboo rice basket
簞small bamboo basket for holding

Word family

瓢ひょう箪たん鯰なまず
slippery as an eel; elusive person
青あお瓢びょう箪たん
green calabash; unripe gourd · scrawny, pale person; sallow-faced person
千せん成なり瓢びょう箪たん
bottle gourd · ensign with a cluster of gourds (Toyotomi Hideyoshi)

Written forms

ひょうたんUsage34%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 瓢箪 and 瓢簞 are rare and mainly decorative or historical.
瓢ひょう簞たんUsage37%
search-only kanji form
Variant kanji form; included for search coverage only.
ヒョウタンUsage19%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling, often used in botanical or scientific contexts.
瓢ひょう箪たんUsage11%
Traditional kanji spelling, occasionally seen in literature or product names.

Etymology

The word is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 瓢箪 are Chinese loan characters used for their meaning, but the exact historical derivation of the Japanese reading is uncertain.