破瓜

Chinese

		to break; to split; broken to break; to split; broken; damaged; worn out	melon; claw; gourd melon; claw; gourd; squash
trad. (破瓜)		破	瓜
simp. #(破瓜)		破	瓜

Etymology

The shape of the character 瓜 can be decomposed into two 八 (“eight”), thus “breaking 瓜” is used to euphemistically refer to reaching the age of 8+8 (=16) for girls, and 8×8 (=64) for men.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): pòguā

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄛˋ ㄍㄨㄚ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: pòguā
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄛˋ ㄍㄨㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: pògua
    • Wade–Giles: pʻo⁴-kua¹
    • Yale: pwò-gwā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: pohgua
    • Palladius: погуа (pogua)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹ ku̯ä⁵⁵/

Verb

破瓜

1. (literary, of a girl) to reach the age of 16
2. (literary, figurative, of a girl) to lose one's virginity
3. (literary, of a man) to reach the age of 64

See also

• 開瓜／开瓜 (“to take a woman's virginity”)
• 破身 (“to have sexual intercourse for the first time”)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
破	瓜
は Grade: 5	か Jinmeiyō
on'yomi	kan'on

Etymology

Similar to the sense development of Chinese 破瓜 (pòguā), the shape of the character 瓜 (literally “gourd”) can be 破 (“broken”) or decomposed into two 八 (“eight”) characters, thus “breaking 瓜” is used to euphemistically refer to reaching the age of 8+8 (=16) for girls, and 8×8 (=64) for men.

The girls' age sense is cited to the late 1600s. The men's age sense is cited to the early 1700s. The sexual sense is cited to the late 1800s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) はか [háꜜkà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ha̠ka̠]

Noun

破(は)瓜(か) • (haka) ^{←はくわ (fakwa)?}

1. the age of 16 for a girl
2. the age of 64 for a man
3. (by extension from the age 16 sense) the breaking of the hymen through sexual intercourse
4. (by extension from the age 16 sense) hebephrenia, disorganized schizophrenia: a type of schizophrenia with onset typically occurring during adolescence

   Synonyms: 破瓜病 (hakabyō), 破瓜型総合失調症 (haka-kei sōgō shitchō-shō)

Derived terms

• 破(は)瓜(か)期(き) (hakaki): adolescence, puberty
• 破(は)瓜(か)病(びょう) (hakabyō): hebephrenia