Featured photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash
I was working on my WaniKani reviews and lessons and came across two words: 茶 (ちゃ/cha) and お茶 (おちゃ/ocha). They both mean tea, what is the difference?
茶 (ちゃ/cha) Is literally just “tea” and originates from China. You might see this form describing different types of tea, written as ◯◯茶. For example:
紅茶 (こうちゃ/koucha): black tea
煎茶 (せんちゃ/sencha): green tea
抹茶 (まっちゃ/matcha): powdered green tea
麦茶 (むぎちゃ/mugicha): barley tea
Putting お in front of 茶 makes it more formal, and what is formal tea in Japan? Japanese tea.
For the word 茶色 (ちゃいろ/cha-iro), we use the term 茶, not お茶. Some might assume this word means the color green because of Japanese green tea, but remember that the word 茶 came from China. What color is Chinese tea? Brown. Specifically, think of oolong tea. So in Japanese, 茶色 is the color brown.
Some words with 茶 in them:
お茶請け (おちゃうけ/ochauke): sweets, pickles, or fruits served with tea
茶柱が立つ (ちゃばしらがたつ/chabashira ga tatsu): a tea stem floats upright, a sign of good luck in Japan.
茶摘み (ちゃつみ/chatsumi): tea harvest
Check out this Magical Japanese episode from NHK World Japan about tea.
See you next time!
– Ayumi
