Pumpkin
Squash, Kabocha
noun
In the south, a melon grows all lumpy and orange because of the hot sun, or sometimes orange and green. Wait, that's not a melon, it's a pumpkin or a squash!
南瓜 often refers to any kind of squash, including Halloween pumpkins. But in everyday Japanese, it usually means a kind of Japanese squash that's green on the outside and orange inside, called kabocha.
The reading for this is an exception, so here's a mnemonic to help you remember it:
A Japanese pumpkin doesn't taste like American pumpkins. It tastes more like canned boiled chocolate (かぼちゃ). Oh, you're not familiar with that flavor? Well, try a Japanese pumpkin and you'll know what it tastes like.
This word is also sometimes read なんきん, especially in the east of Japan.
お母さんが作る南瓜パイは絶品なんだ！
Mom makes the best pumpkin pie!
今日は冬至だから晩御飯は南瓜を使った料理にしよう。
Today is winter solstice, so let's have a something with kabocha in for dinner.
南瓜の煮物を炊きました。
I cooked a boiled squash dish.