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🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Kunigami: Benoki, Okinawa)

ごーやー【苦瓜】

gooyaa

Pronunciation: [ɡoːjaː]

Definition

Noun

  1. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia), also known as the bitter gourd, or locally as the goya. It is a common ingredient in Okinawan cuisine, especially in Chanpuru stir fries.
    1. ごーやーちゃんぷるー
      gooyaa chanpuruu
      "Bitter melon stir fry", "Goya Chanpuru"

Etymology

Cognate to Kagoshima にがごい nigagoi; Miyazaki にがごり nigagori; and standard Japanese にがうり【苦瓜】 nigauri "bitter melon". The expected Okinawan reflex would be *ngooi, which may have assimilated to *gooi and eventually featured the Okinawan nominalizing or diminutive suffix -a(a).

Notes

Fija Byron on the pronunciation of "Goya":

Spelling

OrthographyForm
Kanji苦瓜
Kanaごーやー
Romanizationgooyaa
Pronunciation (IPA)[ɡoːjaː]

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】、ゴーヤー、ゴーヤ

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苦瓜
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2024, March 31). ごーやー【苦瓜】 : gooyaa | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2024, December 8, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/600/gooyaa/.