茶

See also: 苶 and 荼

茶 U+8336, 茶 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8336 ← 茵 [U+8335] CJK Unified Ideographs 茷 → [U+8337]

茶 U+F9FE, 茶 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F9FE ← 什 [U+F9FD] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 刺 → [U+F9FF]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

茶 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 廿人木 (TOD), four-corner 4490₄, composition ⿳艹𠆢朩(GV) or ⿳艹𠆢木(HTJK))

References

• KangXi: page 1029, character 4
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30915
• Dae Jaweon: page 1488, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3207, character 2
• Unihan data for U+8336

• Unihan data for U+F9FE

---

Chinese

trad.		茶
simp. #		茶
alternative forms		𣘻 𦯬 荼

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (余) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
斜	*lja, *laː
茶	*rlaː
荼	*rlaː, *ɦlja, *l'aː
梌	*rlaː, *l̥ʰaː, *l'aː
搽	*rlaː
塗	*rlaː, *l'aː
佘	*ɦlja
賒	*hljaː
畬	*hljaː, *la
舍	*hljaːʔ, *hljaːs
捨	*hljaːʔ
騇	*hljaːʔ, *hljaːs
涻	*hljaːs
稌	*l̥ʰaː, *l̥ʰaːʔ
悇	*l̥ʰaː, *l̥ʰas, *las
庩	*l̥ʰaː
捈	*l̥ʰaː, *l'aː
途	*l'aː
酴	*l'aː
駼	*l'aː
鵌	*l'aː, *la
涂	*l'aː, *l'a
嵞	*l'aː
峹	*l'aː
筡	*l'aː, *l̥ʰa
蒤	*l'aː
徐	*lja
俆	*lja
敘	*ljaʔ
漵	*ljaʔ
除	*l'a, *l'as
篨	*rla
滁	*rla
蒢	*rla
蜍	*ɦlja, *la
鵨	*hljaː
瑹	*hlja
余	*la
餘	*la
艅	*la
狳	*la
雓	*la
悆	*las

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *rlaː): semantic 艹 + phonetic 余 (OC *la).

茶 originates as a graphical modification of archaic 荼 (OC *rlaː, *ɦlja, *l'aː, “bitter plant”), used for “tea” in classical sources.

Etymology

As tea may have originated from Sichuan, where the native Yi people speak Loloish languages, Sagart (1999) suggests that the Old Chinese item was possibly originally borrowed from Proto-Loloish *la¹ (“tea”), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-la (“leaf; tea”). Schuessler (2007) traces its ultimate origin to Proto-Austroasiatic *sla (“leaf”) (compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *slaʔ).

Alternatively, Qiu (1988) suggests that it might be a semantic extension of 荼 (OC *l'aː, “bitter plant”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): chá (cha²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄚˊ

  (Chengdu, SP): ca²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): ца (ca, I)

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou, Jyutping): caa⁴

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): ca³

• Gan (Wiktionary): ca²
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): chhà

  (Meixian, Guangdong): ca²

• Jin (Wiktionary): ca¹
• Min Bei (KCR): dâ
• Min Dong (BUC): dà
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): tê / têe / tiêe / tâ / chhâ

  (Teochew, Peng'im): dê⁵

• Wu (Wiktionary): zo (T3)
• Xiang (Wiktionary): za²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: chá
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄚˊ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: char
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chá
    • Wade–Giles: chʻa2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰä³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: ca²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ca
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰa²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: ца (ca, I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰa²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: caa⁴
    • Yale: chàh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsaa⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ca⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰäː²¹/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: ca³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰa²²/
• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: ca²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰa²⁴/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhà
    • Hakka Romanization System: caˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ca²
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰa¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: ca²
    • Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰa¹¹/
• Jin
  • (Taiyuan)⁺
    • Wiktionary: ca¹
    • Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sʰa¹¹/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: dâ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ta³³/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: dà
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ta⁵³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Hui'an, Changtai, General Taiwanese, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tê
    • Tâi-lô: tê
    • Phofsit Daibuun: dee
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Hui'an, Changtai, Taipei, Singapore): /te²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /te²³/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Zhangpu, Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: têe
    • Tâi-lô: têe
    • IPA (Zhangpu): /tɛ²¹³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tɛ¹³/
    • IPA (Penang): /tɛ²³/
  • (Hokkien: Longyan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiêe
    • Tâi-lô: tiêe
    • IPA (Longyan): /tiɛ¹¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Hui'an, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tâ
    • Tâi-lô: tâ
    • Phofsit Daibuun: daa
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ta²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Hui'an, Taipei): /ta²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ta¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhâ
    • Tâi-lô: tshâ
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhaa
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /t͡sʰa²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰa¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰa²³/

Note:

• tê/têe - vernacular;
• tâ, chhâ - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: dê⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tê
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /te⁵⁵/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: zo (T3)
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /z̥o²³/

Xiang

• (Changsha)
  • Wiktionary: za²
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa̠¹³/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 茶
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʈ͡ʂʰa³⁵/
	Harbin	/ʈ͡ʂʰa²⁴/
	Tianjin	/t͡sʰɑ⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/ʈ͡ʂʰa⁴²/
	Qingdao	/ʈ͡ʂʰa⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ʈ͡ʂʰa⁴²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sʰa²⁴/
	Xining	/t͡sʰa²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ʈ͡ʂʰa⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ʈ͡ʂʰa⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡sʰa⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/t͡sʰa²¹³/
	Chengdu	/t͡sʰa³¹/
	Guiyang	/t͡sʰa²¹/
	Kunming	/ʈ͡ʂʰa̠³¹/
	Nanjing	/ʈ͡ʂʰɑ²⁴/
	Hefei	/ʈ͡ʂʰa⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sʰa¹¹/
	Pingyao	/t͡sɑ¹³/
	Hohhot	/t͡sʰa³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/zo²³/
	Suzhou	/zo¹³/
	Hangzhou	/d͡zɑ²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/d͡zo³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰa⁴⁴/
	Tunxi	/t͡sɔ⁴⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sa¹³/
	Xiangtan	/d͡zɒ¹²/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰɑ²⁴/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰa¹¹/
	Taoyuan	/t͡sʰɑ¹¹/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰa²¹/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰa²¹/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰa²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/ta³⁵/ /te³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/ta⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/ta³³/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/te⁵⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/ʔdɛ³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: /ɖˠa/

Rime
Character	茶
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	澄 (11)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	宅加切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɖˠa/
Pan Wuyun	/ɖᵚa/
Shao Rongfen	/ȡa/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɖaɨ/
Li Rong	/ȡa/
Wang Li	/ȡa/
Bernard Karlgren	/ȡʱa/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	chá
Expected Cantonese Reflex	caa4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*rlaː/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	茶
Reading #	1/1
No.	15747
Phonetic component	余
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	𡨀
Old Chinese	/*rlaː/
Notes	俗𣘻字，荼轉註分化字

Definitions

茶

1. tea (plant, leaves)

   種茶／种茶  ―  zhòng chá  ―  to grow tea

2. tea (beverage made by infusing tea leaves in hot water)

   綠茶／绿茶  ―  lǜchá  ―  green tea

   沏茶  ―  qīchá  ―  to make tea

   一杯茶  ―  yī bēi chá  ―  a cup of tea

3. certain kinds of beverage or liquid food

   涼茶／凉茶  ―  liángchá  ―  Chinese herb tea

   冬瓜茶  ―  dōngguāchá  ―  winter melon punch

   杏仁茶  ―  xìngrénchá  ―  almond tea

4. Chinese medicine

   午時茶／午时茶  ―  wǔshíchá  ―  Afternoon Tea

5. yum cha

   早茶  ―  zǎochá  ―  morning yum cha

   去茶樓飲餐茶 [Cantonese, trad.]
   去茶楼饮餐茶 [Cantonese, simp.]

   heoi³ caa⁴ lau⁴ jam² caan¹ caa⁴ [Jyutping]

   to go yumcha at a dim sum restaurant

6. (obsolete) a moment (the time it takes to drink a cup of tea)
7. (dialectal Mandarin, Cantonese, Gan, Xiang, Wu) boiled or boiling water
8. a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 茶 (“tea (drink)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		茶, 檟, 蔎, 茗, 荈
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		茶
Mandarin	Beijing	茶
	Taiwan	茶
	Harbin	茶
	Yantai (Muping)	茶
	Jinan	茶
	Luoyang	茶
	Wanrong	茶
	Xi'an	茶
	Yinchuan	茶
	Lanzhou	茶
	Xining	茶
	Ürümqi	茶
	Wuhan	茶
	Chengdu	茶
	Guiyang	茶
	Guilin	茶
	Liuzhou	茶
	Xuzhou	茶, 茶葉茶
	Yangzhou	茶, 茶葉茶
	Nanjing	茶
	Hefei	茶
	Nantong	茶葉茶
	Malaysia	茶
	Singapore	茶
Cantonese	Guangzhou	茶
	Hong Kong	茶
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	夷茶
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	茶
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	茶葉茶
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	茶葉茶
	Macau	茶
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	茶
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	茶
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	茶
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	茶
	Foshan	茶
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	茶
	Foshan (Shunde)	茶
	Foshan (Sanshui)	茶
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	茶
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	茶
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	茶
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	茶
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	茶
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	茶
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	茶
	Taishan	茶
	Kaiping (Chikan)	茶
	Enping (Niujiang)	茶
	Heshan (Yayao)	茶
	Dongguan	茶
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	茶
	Yangjiang	茶
	Beihai	茶
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	茶
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	茶
	Singapore (Guangfu)	茶
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	茶
Gan	Nanchang	茶, 茶葉茶
	Lichuan	茶
	Pingxiang	茶
Hakka	Meixian	茶
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	茶
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	茶
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	茶
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	茶
	Conghua (Lütian)	茶
	Yudu	茶
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	茶
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	茶
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	茶
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	茶
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	茶
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	茶
	Hong Kong	茶葉茶
	Senai (Huiyang)	茶
Huizhou	Jixi	茶
Jin	Taiyuan	茶
Min Bei	Jian'ou	茶
Min Dong	Fuzhou	茶
	Fuqing	茶
	Matsu	茶
	Singapore (Fuqing)	茶
Min Nan	Xiamen	茶
	Quanzhou	茶
	Zhangzhou	茶
	Taipei	茶
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	茶
	Kaohsiung	茶
	Yilan	茶
	Changhua (Lukang)	茶
	Taichung	茶
	Tainan	茶
	Hsinchu	茶
	Kinmen	茶
	Penghu (Magong)	茶
	Penang (Hokkien)	茶
	Singapore (Hokkien)	茶
	Manila (Hokkien)	茶
	Chaozhou	茶
	Shantou	茶
	Shantou (Chenghai)	茶
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	茶
	Jieyang	茶
	Haifeng	茶
	Bangkok (Teochew)	茶
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	茶
	Singapore (Teochew)	茶
	Pontianak (Teochew)	茶
	Leizhou	茶
	Wenchang	茶
	Haikou	茶
	Singapore (Hainanese)	茶
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	茶
	Sanxiang	茶
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	茶
Wu	Shanghai	茶葉茶
	Shanghai (Chongming)	茶葉茶
	Suzhou	茶, 茶葉茶
	Danyang	茶, 茶葉茶
	Hangzhou	茶
	Ningbo	茶, 茶葉茶
	Wenzhou	茶, 茶葉茶
	Jinhua	茶
Xiang	Changsha	茶, 茶葉茶
	Loudi	茶
	Shuangfeng	茶

Dialectal synonyms of 開水 (“boiled water”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		開水
Mandarin	Beijing	開水
	Taiwan	開水
	Tianjin	開水
	Harbin	開水
	Yantai (Muping)	開水
	Jinan	開水
	Luoyang	開水, 滾水
	Wanrong	滾水
	Xi'an	開水
	Yinchuan	滾水
	Xining	開水
	Ürümqi	開水, 滾水
	Wuhan	開水
	Chengdu	開水, 滾水
	Guiyang	開水
	Guilin	開水
	Liuzhou	開水
	Yangzhou	開水, 茶
	Xinghua	開水, 滾水, 透水
	Nanjing	開水
	Hefei	開水
	Malaysia	滾水, 燒水
	Singapore	白開水, 開水
Cantonese	Guangzhou	滾水, 茶
	Hong Kong	滾水
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	滾水
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	滾水
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	滾水
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	滾水
	Macau	滾水
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	滾水
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	滾水
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	滾水
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	滾水
	Foshan	滾水
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	滾水
	Foshan (Shunde)	滾水
	Foshan (Sanshui)	滾水
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	滾水
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	滾水
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	滾水
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	滾水
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	滾水
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	滾水
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	滾水
	Taishan	滾水
	Kaiping (Chikan)	滾水
	Enping (Niujiang)	滾水
	Heshan (Yayao)	滾水
	Dongguan	滾水
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	滾水
	Shenzhen (Dapeng)	滾水
	Qingyuan	滾水
	Fogang	滾水
	Yingde (Hanguang)	滾水
	Yangshan	滾水
	Lianshan (Butian)	滾水
	Lianzhou (Qingshui Sihui)	滾水
	Shaoguan	開水
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	滾水
	Renhua	開心水
	Lechang	開水
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	滾水
	Sihui	滾水
	Guangning	滾水
	Deqing	滾水
	Huaiji	滾水
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	滾水
	Yunfu	滾水
	Xinxing	滾水
	Luoding	滾水
	Yunan (Pingtai)	滾水
	Yangjiang	滾水
	Xinyi	滾水
	Maoming (Xinpo)	滾水
	Lianjiang	滾水
	Wuchuan (Wuyang)	滾水
	Nanning	滾水
	Wuzhou	滾水
	Yulin	滾水
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	滾水
	Guiping	開水
	Mengshan (Xihe)	滾水
	Guigang (Nanjiang)	滾水
	Beiliu (Tangliao)	滾水
	Baise	開水
	Bobai	滾水
Lingshan	滾水
Pubei	滾水
Qinzhou	滾水
Beihai	滾水
Ningming	開水
Hengxian	泡心水
Hezhou (Pumen)	開水
Gan	Nanchang	開水, 茶
	Pengze	滾水
	Yanshan	濺水
	Lichuan	開水, 茶
	Pingxiang	開水, 茶
Hakka	Meixian	滾水, 沸水 dated
	Xingning	沸水
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	滾水
	Huiyang	沸水
	Huidong (Daling)	沸水
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	開水
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	沸水
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	沸水
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	沸水, 滾水
	Wuhua (Changbu)	沸水
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	沸水
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	滾水
	Wengyuan	滾水
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	滾開水
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	滾水
	Liannan	滾水
	Conghua (Lütian)	滾水
	Jiexi	滾水
	Luhe	滾水
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	滾水
	Changting	滾水
	Wuping	滾水
	Wuping (Yanqian)	茶, 滾水
	Wuping (Pingyu)	滾水
	Liancheng	滾湯
	Ninghua	滾水
	Yudu	開水, 滾湯, 滾水
	Ningdu	開水
	Ruijin	煎湯
	Shicheng	滾水, 煎水
	Shangyou (Shexi)	爆水
	Tonggu (Sandu)	開水
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	開水
	Dayu	翻心水
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	滾水
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	滾水
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	滾水
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	滾水
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	滾水
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	滾水
	Hong Kong	沸水
	Yangxi (Tangkou)	滾水
	Yangchun (Sanjia)	滾水
	Xinyi (Sihe)	滾水
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	滾水
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	滾水, 開水
	Dianbai (Shalang)	滾水
	Huazhou (Xin'an)	滾水
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	滾水
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	滾水
	Mengshan (Xihe)	滾水
	Luchuan	滾水
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	開水
	Beiliu (Tang'an)	開水
	Mashan (Pianlian)	開水
	Senai (Huiyang)	滾水, 沸水 dated
	Singkawang	滾水
Huizhou	Jixi	滾水, 開水
Jin	Taiyuan	開水, 滾水
	Datong (Xicetian, Yunzhou)	開水, 熬水
	Xinzhou	滾水
Min Bei	Jian'ou	滾湯, 開水
	Jian'ou (Dikou)	滾湯
	Zhenghe (Zhenqian)	滾湯
	Pucheng (Shibei)	沸水, 茶
Min Dong	Fuzhou	開水, 滾湯
	Gutian	開水
Min Nan	Xiamen	滾水
	Quanzhou	滾水
	Zhangzhou	滾水
	Taipei	白茶, 滾水
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	滾水
	Kaohsiung	滾水
	Yilan	滾水
	Changhua (Lukang)	滾水
	Taichung	滾水
	Tainan	滾水
	Hsinchu	滾水
	Kinmen	滾水
	Penghu (Magong)	滾水
	Penang (Hokkien)	滾水
	Singapore (Hokkien)	滾水
	Manila (Hokkien)	滾水
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	開水
	Guilin (Biyange)	滾水
	Chaozhou	滾水
	Shantou	滾水
	Shantou (Chenghai)	滾水
	Jieyang	滾水
	Haifeng	滾水
	Leizhou	沸水
	Wenchang	沸水
	Haikou	沸水
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	沸水
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	滾水
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	開水
	Guilin (Liutang, Lingui)	開水
	Lingchuan (Sanjie)	開水
	Lingchuan (Shuangzhou)	開水
Shehua	Fu'an	沸水
	Fuding	沸水
	Luoyuan	沸水
	Sanming	沸水
	Shunchang	沸水
	Hua'an	沸水
	Guixi (Zhangping)	沸水
	Cangnan	沸水
	Jingning	沸水
	Lishui	沸水
	Longyou	沸湯
	Chaozhou	滾水
	Fengshun	滾水
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	開水
	Yuanling (Shaojiwan)	開水
	Luxi (Liangjiatan)	開水
Wu	Shanghai	開水, 茶水, 滾水, 滾湯
	Shanghai (Chongming)	茶
	Suzhou	開水, 茶, 滾水
	Danyang	開水, 滾水, 茶
	Hangzhou	開水
	Ningbo	開水, 滾水, 茶
	Wenzhou	開水, 茶湯
	Jinhua	開水, 滾湯, 茶
Xiang	Changsha	開水, 茶, 滾水子
	Loudi	開水, 滾水
	Shuangfeng	開水
	Quanzhou	開水
	Qinglong (Changliu Laba Miao)	開水, 滾水

Compounds

• See 茶/derived terms § Tea (Chinese).

Descendants

• See 茶/derived terms § Tea (Chinese).

References

• “茶”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A03475

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Japanese

Kanji

茶

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. tea

Readings

• Go-on: じゃ (ja)^{←ぢや (dya, historical)}
• Kan-on: た (ta)
• Tō-on: さ (sa, Jōyō)
• Kan’yō-on: ちゃ (cha, Jōyō)

Compounds

Compounds

• お茶(ちゃ) (ocha): tea
• 烏(ウー)竜(ロン)茶(ちゃ) (ūroncha): oolong tea
• 喫(きっ)茶(さ)店(てん) (kissaten): tearoom; café
• 紅(こう)茶(ちゃ) (kōcha): black tea
• 古(こ)茶(ちゃ) (kocha): tea from last year
• 粉(こな)茶(ちゃ) (konacha): dust tea
• 新(しん)茶(ちゃ) (shincha): new tea of the year
• 茶(ちゃ)色(いろ) (chairo): brown
• 茶(ちゃ)園(えん) (chaen): tea plantation
• 茶(ちゃ)会(かい) (chakai): tea party
• 茶(ちゃ)器(き) (chaki): teaware

• 茶(ちゃ)匙(さじ) (chasaji): teaspoon
• 茶(ちゃ)の湯(ゆ) (chanoyu): tea ceremony
• 茶(ちゃ)畑(ばたけ) (chabatake): tea plantation
• 品(ひん)茶(ちゃ) (hincha): tea evaluation; a game of drinking varieties of tea and guessing them correctly
• 焙(ほう)じ茶(ちゃ) (hōjicha): roasted green tea
• 抹(まっ)茶(ちゃ) (matcha): maccha, matcha
• 無(む)茶(ちゃ) (mucha): reckless
• 緑(りょく)茶(ちゃ) (ryokucha): green tea

Etymology

茶 (cha): a cup of tea.

Kanji in this term
茶
ちゃ Grade: 2
kan’yōon

From various dialects of Middle Chinese 茶 (MC ɖˠa). Compare modern Mandarin reading chá, Hakka chhà, Cantonese caa⁴.

Pronunciation

• Kan’yōyomi
• (Tokyo) ちゃ [chà] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕa̠]

Noun

茶(ちゃ) • (cha) 

1. tea (not used in isolation in modern Japanese)
2. brown

Usage notes

This term is not used on its own in modern Japanese. For the tea sense, this is used either with the honorific prefix お (o-), or in a compound such as 茎茶 (kukicha, literally “stem tea”) or 緑茶 (ryokucha, “green tea”).

• お茶(ちゃ)はいかがですか。

  Ocha wa ikaga desuka.

  How about some tea? (Would you like some tea?)

For the brown sense, this is used with the color suffix 色 (-iro), as in 茶色 (chairo, “brown”, literally “tea color”).

Synonyms

• 茗(めい) (mei) (rare)

Descendants

• → Ainu: チャ (ca)
• → Nivkh: ча (ț’a)

See also

• 湯(ゆ) (yu): hot water; (by extension) tea

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Korean

Etymology 1

From Early Mandarin 茶 (EM *tʂʰaᴸᴸ). Compare modern Mandarin reading chá, Hakka chhà, Cantonese caa⁴.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰa̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [차]

Hanja

Wikisource

茶 (eumhun 차 차 (cha cha))

1. Hanja form^? of 차 (“tea”).

Usage notes

This reading is used as a standalone word to mean "tea."

Compounds

Compounds

• 차례 (茶禮, charye, “ancestral rites; Charye”)
• 녹차 (綠茶, nokcha)
• 말차 (抹茶, malcha)
• 홍차 (紅茶, hongcha)
• 찻잔 (茶盞, chatjan)
• 차반 (茶盤, chaban)
• 냉차 (冷茶, naengcha, “iced tea”)
• 찻장 (茶欌, chatjang, “tea cabinet”)
• 차구 (茶具, chagu)

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 茶 (MC ɖˠa).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	땅 (Yale: ttà)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[2]	차 (Yale: chà)	다 (Yale: tà)

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ta̠]
• Phonetic hangul: [다]

Hanja

茶 (eumhun 차 다 (cha da))

1. (only in compounds) Hanja form^? of 다 (“tea”).
2. (only in compounds) Hanja form^? of 다 (“brown”).

Compounds

Compounds

• 다식 (茶食, dasik)
• 다과 (茶菓, dagwa)
• 다기 (茶器, dagi)
• 다구 (茶具, dagu)
• 다방 (茶房, dabang)
• 다화 (茶話, dahwa, “tea-table talk”)
• 다색 (茶色, dasaek)
• 끽다 (喫茶, kkikda)
• 다소 (茶素, daso, “caffeine”)
• 다과회 (茶菓會, dagwahoe, “tea club”)
• 다반사 (茶飯事, dabansa, “everyday affair”)
• 다갈색 (茶褐色, dagalsaek)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

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Vietnamese

Han character

茶: Hán Việt readings: trà
茶: Nôm readings: trà, chè, chà, sà, già, chòe/choè

1. chữ Hán form of trà (“tea”).
2. Nôm form of chè (“tea”).