南瓜是葫芦科南瓜属的植物。“南瓜”一词可以特指南瓜属中的中国南瓜（Cucurbita moschata），也可以泛指包括笋瓜（又称印度南瓜）、西葫芦（又称美洲南瓜）等在内的其他南瓜属栽培种。其中前者因产地叫法各异，又名麦瓜、番瓜、倭瓜、金冬瓜，闽南话、客家话、大鹏话、金华话称为金瓜，在湖南常德等地也称“北瓜”，原产于北美洲。

南瓜在中国各地都有栽种。嫩果味甘适口，是夏秋季节的瓜菜之一。老瓜可作饲料或杂粮，所以有很多地方又称为饭瓜。在西方南瓜常用来做成南瓜派，即南瓜甜饼。南瓜瓜子可以做零食。

A pumpkin is a cultivar of a squash plant, most commonly of Cucurbita pepo, that is round, with smooth, slightly ribbed skin, and deep yellow to orange coloration. The thick shell contains the seeds and pulp. Some exceptionally large cultivars of squash with similar appearance have also been derived from Cucurbita maxima. Specific cultivars of winter squash derived from other species, including C. argyrosperma, and C. moschata, are also sometimes called "pumpkin". In New Zealand and Australian English, the term pumpkin generally refers to the broader category called winter squash elsewhere.