ぐや

Yonaguni

Etymology

Likely an irregular change of Proto-Ryukyuan elements *niga (“bitter”) + *ori (“melon”).

Cognate with Kunigami ごーやー (gōyā, “bitter melon”, Nakijin-Yonamine dialect), Okinawan ごーやー (gōyā, “bitter melon, crippled foot”, Shuri dialect), Miyako ごーら (gōra, “bitter melon”, Irabu-Nakachi dialect).

Pronunciation

• (Sonai) IPA^(key): [ɡùjâ] (tone class C)

Noun

ぐや (guya) 

1. bitter gourd, bitter melon

   ぐやや　んだみてぃ　チャンプルー　いたり　ひちたてぃ　んだみてぃ　さしみとぅ　まどぅん　はいば　まーんど

   guyaya ndamiti chanpurū itari hichitati ndamiti sashimitu madun haiba māndo

   I slice bitter melon to use as chanpuru; slicing thin, when I eat it together with sashimi, it is delicious.

References

• Yonaguni Hōgen Jiten Henshū I'inkai (与那国方言辞典編集委員会) (2021) どぅなんむぬい辞典 [Dunanmunui Dictionary], Yonaguni (与那国町): Yonaguni-chō Kyōiku I'inkai (与那国町教育委員会), page 138

Further reading

• “ぐや【苦瓜】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.