🌏 Region(s): Kyushu (Kumamoto, Miyazaki)
にがごり【苦瓜】 : nigagori | define meaning
nigagori
Definition
Noun
- Bitter melon (Momordica charantia sp.); bitter gourd; goya
Etymology
Cognate with Kagoshima にがごい nigagoi and ごい goi; Kumamoto and Miyazaki にがごり nigagori; Tokunoshima いぎゃうい igya'ui; Kunigami (Benoki) and Okinawan ごーやー gooyaa; Yonaguni ぐや guya; and standard Japanese にがうり【苦瓜】 nigauri "bitter melon".
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, 1795-1798 (1804), by William Robert Broughton, records "Coya, A cucumber".
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 苦瓜 |
| Kana | にがごり |
| Romanization | nigagori |
意味：にがうり・ニガウリ【苦瓜】、つるれいし・ツルレイシ【蔓茘枝】
Categories:
苦瓜
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2025, November 19). にがごり【苦瓜】 : nigagori | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, December 5, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/3072/nigagori/.