Share this link via
Or copy link
Kanji for Tea
The kanji most commonly used for "Tea" is 茶.
茶
Kanji that mean Tea
-
茶
tea, tea ceremony, brown
Onyomi: cha, sa 9 strokes Jōyō
茶 (cha / sa) is tea — the grass crown 艹 over a tree-person compound: the cultivated leaf. Tea reached Japan with Zen monks, and the character steeped into the whole culture: 茶道 (sadō) is the Way of Tea; 抹茶 (matcha) the powdered green now conquering world cafés; 茶室 the tea room; お茶 simply “tea”, and by extension the break you take to drink it.
Its colour sense followed: 茶色 — “tea colour” — is the Japanese word for brown, which surprises learners expecting green. And the character relaxed into slang centuries ago: 茶化す is to tease, 無茶 (“no tea”) is absurd or reckless, 滅茶苦茶 (mechakucha) is total chaos — tea, in Japanese, is also the measure of sanity.
The philosophy travels with the cup: 一期一会 — one meeting, once only — is the tea ceremony’s own maxim, the reason every bowl is prepared as if it were the last.
Words using Tea kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
-
お茶
おちゃ
tea (esp. green or barley); tea break; teatime
-
喫茶店
きっさてん
coffee shop; tearoom; coffee lounge
-
紅茶
こうちゃ
black tea
-
茶色
ちゃいろ
brown; light brown; tawny
-
茶の間
ちゃのま
(Japanese-style) living room
-
茶道
さどう
tea ceremony; Way of Tea; sadō
Before you use Tea kanji
茶 reads warmly: tea, the tea ceremony, hospitality — though to an unprepared eye it can also just read "brown". For the ceremony's spirit rather than the beverage, 一期一会 ("one encounter, one chance") is the phrase actually hung in tea rooms, and among the most meaningful four-character tattoos available.