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Definition 2025
茶
茶
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Translingual
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Han character
茶 (radical 140 艸+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 廿人木 (TOD), four-corner 44904, composition ⿳艹𠆢朩 or ⿳艹𠆢木)
References
- KangXi: page 1029, character 4
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30915
- Dae Jaweon: page 1488, character 1
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 5, page 3207, character 2
- Unihan data for U+8336
Chinese
|
simp. and trad. |
茶 | |
|---|---|---|
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 |
| 叙 | *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 艸 + 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
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-la. Cognate with 荼 (OC *rlaː, *ɦlja, *l'aː, “bitter plant”).
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄔㄚˊ
- Wade-Giles: ch'a2
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: char
- IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂʰa̠³⁵/
-
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: caa4
- Yale: chàh
- Cantonese Pinyin: tsaa4
- IPA (key): /t͡sʰɑː²¹/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: ca3
- IPA (key): /t͡sʰa²²/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhà
- Hakka Romanization System: caˇ
- Hagfa Pinyim: ca2
- IPA: /t͡sʰa¹¹/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: dà
- IPA (key): /ta⁵³/
- (Fuzhou)
- Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tê
- Tâi-lô: tê
- Phofsit Daibuun: dee
- IPA (Xiamen): /te²⁴/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /te²⁴/
- IPA (Taipei): /te²⁴/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /te²³/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: têe
- Tâi-lô: têe
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /tɛ¹³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tâ
- Tâi-lô: tâ
- Phofsit Daibuun: daa
- IPA (Xiamen): /ta²⁴/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /ta²⁴/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /ta¹³/
- IPA (Taipei): /ta²⁴/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /ta²³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhâ
- Tâi-lô: tshâ
- Phofsit Daibuun: zhaa
- IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sʰa²⁴/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sʰa²⁴/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰa¹³/
- IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰa²⁴/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰa²³/
- Note: tê/têe - vernacular; tâ, chhâ - literary.
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: dê5
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tê
- IPA (key): /te⁵⁵/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
- Wu
- (Shanghainese)
- Wiktionary: zo (T3)
- IPA (key): /z̻o²³/
- (Shanghainese)
- Dialectal data▼
| Variety | Location | 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/ |
| 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 |
| 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
- tea (plant, leaves)
- tea (beverage made by infusing tea leaves in hot water)
- beverage (in general)
- (obsolete) a moment (the time it takes to drink a cup of tea)
- (dialectal Mandarin, Cantonese, Gan, Xiang, Wu) boiled or boiling water
Synonyms
- (tea): 茗 (míng)
- (boiled water):
| Dialectal synonyms of 開水 (“boiled water”) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Variety | Location | Words |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 開水 | |
| Mandarin | Beijing | 開水 |
| Taiwan | 開水 | |
| Tianjin | 開水 | |
| Jinan | 開水 | |
| Xi'an | 開水 | |
| Wuhan | 開水 | |
| Chengdu | 開水 | |
| Yangzhou | 開水、茶 | |
| Hefei | 開水 | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 滾水、茶 |
| Hong Kong | 滾水 | |
| Taishan | 滾水 | |
| Yangjiang | 滾水 | |
| Gan | Nanchang | 開水、茶 |
| Hakka | Meixian | 滾水 |
| Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 滾水 | |
| Liudui (S. Sixian) | 滾水 | |
| Hsinchu (Hailu) | 滾水 | |
| Dongshi (Dabu) | 滾水 | |
| Zhuolan (Raoping) | 滾水 | |
| Yunlin (Zhao'an) | 滾水 | |
| Jin | Taiyuan | 開水 |
| Min Bei | Jian'ou | 滾湯、開水 |
| Min Dong | Fuzhou | 開水、滾湯 |
| Min Nan | Quanzhou | 滾水 |
| Xiamen | 滾水 | |
| Zhangzhou | 滾水 | |
| Taipei | 白茶、滾水 | |
| Kaohsiung | 滾水 | |
| Tainan | 滾水 | |
| Taichung | 滾水 | |
| Yilan | 滾水 | |
| Lukang | 滾水 | |
| Sanxia | 滾水 | |
| Kinmen | 滾水 | |
| Magong | 滾水 | |
| Hsinchu | 滾水 | |
| Chaozhou | 滾水 | |
| Wu | Shanghai | 開水、茶水 |
| Suzhou | 開水、茶 | |
| Wenzhou | 開水、茶湯 | |
| Xiang | Changsha | 開水、茶 |
| Shuangfeng | 開水 | |
Compounds
Derived terms from 茶
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Descendants
Others:
- See also the descendants in Appendix:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/s-la.
Japanese
Kanji
茶
Readings
Compounds
Compounds
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 (/ȡa/). Compare modern Mandarin reading chá, Hakka chhà, Cantonese caa4.
Pronunciation
- Kan'yōyomi
- (Tokyo) ちゃ [chà] (Heiban - [0])[1]
- IPA(key): [t͡ɕa̠]
Noun
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 brown (chairo, literally “tea color”).
Synonyms
- 茗 (mei) (rare)