Phrase guide

bitter melon

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈbɪtəɹ ˈmɛlən/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A vine, Momordica charantia, which produces a bitter yet edible fruit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The fruit of the bitter melon vine.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The colocynth, Citrullus colocynthis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A similar fruit-bearing vine, Citrullus lanatus (Citroides Group).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 苦瓜 (kǔguā).

Across languages

Translations

104 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: قَاوُون (qāwūn) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Basque: meloi mikatz — plant Momordica charantia
  • Burmese: ကြက်ဟင်းခါးပင် (krakhang:hka:pang) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Catalan: cogombre tropical — plant Momordica charantia
  • Chinese Mandarin: 苦瓜 (kǔguā) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Dutch: sopropo — plant Momordica charantia
  • Estonian: karella-kibekurk — plant Momordica charantia
  • Finnish: karvaskurkku — plant Momordica charantia
  • German: Bittermelone — plant Momordica charantia
  • German: Bittergurke — plant Momordica charantia
  • German: Balsambirne — plant Momordica charantia
  • German: Karela — plant Momordica charantia
  • Greek: πικρό πεπόνι (pikró pepóni) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Indonesian: pare — plant Momordica charantia
  • Indonesian: paria — plant Momordica charantia
  • Japanese: 蔓茘枝 (tsuru reishi) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Japanese: 苦瓜 (nigauri) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Malayalam: പാവൽ (pāval) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Muyang: milimbek — plant Momordica charantia
  • Polish: przepękla ogórkowata — plant Momordica charantia
  • Polish: balsamka ogórkowata — plant Momordica charantia
  • Portuguese: melão-de-são-caetano — plant Momordica charantia
  • Spanish: melón amargo — plant Momordica charantia
  • Sranan Tongo: sopropo — plant Momordica charantia
  • Swedish: bittergurka — plant Momordica charantia
  • Tagalog: ampalaya — plant Momordica charantia
  • Tamil: பாகற்காய் (pākaṟkāy) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Telugu: కాకర (kākara) — plant Momordica charantia
  • Turkish: kudret narı — plant Momordica charantia
  • Arabic: قَاوُون (qāwūn) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Assamese: কেৰেলা (kerela) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Bengali: করলা (korla) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Bengali: উচ্ছা (uccha) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Bengali: উচ্ছে (ucche) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Central Bikol: marigoso — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Burmese: ကြက်ဟင်းခါးသီး (krakhang:hka:si:) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Cebuano: paliya — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Chinese Cantonese: 涼瓜 /凉瓜 (loeng4 gwaa1) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Chinese Cantonese: 苦瓜 (fu2 gwaa1) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Chinese: 苦瓜 (zh-min-nan) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Chinese: 防羊言 (hông-iûn-giân) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Chinese: 紅楊 /红杨 (âng-iûn) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Chinese Mandarin: 苦瓜 (kǔguā) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Dutch: sopropo — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Estonian: karella-kibekurk — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Finnish: karvaskurkku — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • French: margose — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • French: momordique — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • French: pomme de merveille — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • French: melon amer — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • French: poire balsamique — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • German: Bittermelone — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • German: Bittergurke — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • German: Balsambirne — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • German: Karela — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Greek: πικρό πεπόνι (pikró pepóni) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Gujarati: કારેલું (kārelũ) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Hindi: करेला (karelā) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Ilocano: pariya — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Indonesian: pare — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Indonesian: paria — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Japanese: 蔓茘枝 — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Japanese: ツルレイシ (tsurureishi) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Japanese: 苦瓜 — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Japanese: ニガウリ (nigauri) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Kannada: ಹಾಗಲಕಾಯಿ (hāgalakāyi) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Kapampangan: apalya — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Kapampangan: apalia — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Kashmiri: کَریلہٕ (karēlụ) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Khmer: ម្រះ (mrĕəh) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Konkani: काराते (kārāte) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Korean: 여주 (yeoju) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Lao: ຟັກຂົມ (fak khom) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Maguindanao: paliya — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Malay: tembikai pahit — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Malay: peria — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Malayalam: പാവയ്ക്ക (pāvaykka) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Malayalam: കയ്പക്ക (kaypakka) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Manchu: ᡤᠠᡥᠠ ᠣᡨ᠋ᠣᠨ (gaha oton) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Marathi: कारली (kārlī) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Masbatenyo: ampalaya — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Okinawan: ごーやー (gōyā) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Polish: przepękla ogórkowata — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Polish: balsamka ogórkowata — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Portuguese: melão-de-são-caetano — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Punjabi: ਕਰੇਲਾ (karelā) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Réunion Creole French: margoz — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Russian: кита́йская го́рькая ты́ква (kitájskaja górʹkaja týkva) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Russian: момо́рдика (momórdika) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Russian: каре́ла (karéla) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Sanskrit: कारवेल्ल (kāravella) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Spanish: melón amargo — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Sranan Tongo: sopropo — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Swedish: bittergurka — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Tagalog: ampalaya — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Tamil: பாகற்காய் (pākaṟkāy) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Telugu: కాకరకాయ (kākarakāya) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Thai: มะระ (má-rá) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Tulu: ಕಂಚಲ (kañcala) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Turkish: kudret narı — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Urdu: کریلا (karelā) — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Vietnamese: khổ qua — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Vietnamese: mướp đắng — fruit of Momordica charantia
  • Zhuang: lwghaemz — fruit of Momordica charantia