瓜子
guā zǐ · HSK 7
melon seeds
🍉🌱 瓜 (melon) + 子 (seed) = melon seeds; classic snack at Chinese New Year
瓜 means melon/gourd and 子 means seed or small thing. Together they name the dried, salted sunflower or watermelon seeds Chinese families crack open during holidays and tea breaks.
瓜 — pictograph of a melon on its vine
瓜 is a pictograph showing a melon or gourd hanging from a curling vine, with the outer strokes representing the trailing tendrils and the inner shape the fruit itself. It has kept its original meaning of 'melon/gourd' since ancient times and also serves as a radical for related fruits like 瓢 (gourd ladle) and 瓣 (segment).
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.