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お茶. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
お茶, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
お茶 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
お茶 you have here. The definition of the word
お茶 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
お茶, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Etymology
Compound of 御 (o-, honorific prefix) + 茶 (cha, “tea”).
Pronunciation
Noun
お茶 • (ocha)
- tea, usually green tea
- お茶はいかがですか。
- Ocha wa ikaga desu ka.
- How about some tea? (Would you like some tea?)
- tea ceremony
- snack with tea or coffee
- the act of having tea
Usage notes
- Using お茶 is considered neutral (i.e., neither polite nor impolite), while the bare 茶 is markedly impolite to refer to tea. The prefix お (o-) was originally an honorific, but is now part of the word in modern Japanese.
Verb
お茶する • (ocha suru) intransitive suru (stem お茶し (ocha shi), past お茶した (ocha shita))
- (colloquial) go out for tea
Usage notes
お茶 generally refers to a cup of hot green tea. In general, black tea is referred to as 紅茶 (kōcha), though it can be implicitly included within the term お茶, which literally just means "tea."
The honorific お (o-) in お茶 is normally written in hiragana, though you will see it from time to time in more formal or official writing as 御 (as in 御茶). Also, お茶 is one of the unusual cases of the honorific お (or 御 (o-)) that can be used to refer to anyone, including the speaker. See the usage note at 御-.
茶する without the honorific お is rarely used.
Related terms
Related terms
- 紅茶 (kōcha, “black tea”)
- ほうじ茶 (hōjicha, “roasted green tea”)
- 緑茶 (ryokucha, “green tea”)
- ウーロン茶 (Ūron-cha, “Oolong tea”)
- コーヒー (kōhī, “coffee”)
- 喫茶店 (kissaten, “tearoom, teahouse, café”)
- 抹茶 (matcha, “matcha, powdered green tea”)
Descendants
References