Honeydew Melon or Cantaloupe? (Honeydew Melon or Cantaloupe)
posted by dough.gfc on July 6, 2015 | 2 comments
I was trying to have 哈密瓜 translated and all of my favorite dictionaries call it "Honeydew Melon". But the thing they are referring to, I'm pretty sure is a cantaloupe (the orange, rough-skinned one).

Alternatively, the translation for cantaloupe is "香瓜", and I'm pretty sure it's actually a honeydew melon (the green smooth-skinned one).

This silly question has been bothering me to the point where I'm even afraid to add it as a vocab word to any of my study tools, for fear of learning it incorrectly! Or maybe I'm off base, I'm not a huge fan of either of these fruits.

Thank you!
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wldavis on July 7, 2015 | reply
I think you are right. The open source dictionaries sometimes show 哈密瓜 as Honeydew. But when I have asked what it this called and pointed to a cantaloupe, people say 哈密瓜. Personally I think perhaps the native varieties are slightly different than what is in the US. And no the other varieties are there, but the old names persist.

I checked pleco and it shows the same as your dictionary. Google shows cantaloupe as 哈密瓜.
dough.gfc on July 7, 2015 | reply
Thanks for the insight, I can study much more calmly now. :D