Language/Mandarin-chinese/Vocabulary/茶-chá-tea

茶 chá tea in Mandarin Chinese

Definition

Radical is 艸 căo “grass,” which is written 草 when it occurs as an independent word. When it occurs as a radical at the top of a character, as here, the “grass” radical is written as 艹 and is then known as 草字 头 (草字頭) căozìtóu “top made up of the character 草.” The rest of the character 茶 consists of 人 rén, which here looks like a big canopy or cover, over 木 mù “tree.” “Tea” 茶 is picked from a “tree”-like 木 plant and is dried under a “cover” 人 before being sold and brewed. Distinguish 茶 from 菜 cài.

Examples

• 茶 chá tea [N]
• 喝茶 hēchá drink tea [VO]
• 以茶代酒 yĭ chá dài jiŭŭ “substitute tea for liquor” [EX]
• 茶馆 (茶館) cháguăn(r) teahouse [PW]

Sources

Book: Intermediate Written Chinese by Cornelius C. Kubler

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