泡茶 (pào chá) — to brew tea, to make tea (by steeping) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

泡茶 means steeping/brewing tea by soaking leaves in hot water — the everyday 'make tea' verb focused on the steeping method, not the ritual of serving.

verb

to brew teato make tea (by steeping)

Examples

泡茶。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng dōu huì pào chá.
I make tea every morning.
。
Tā gěi wǒ pào le yì bēi hǎo chá.
He brewed a good cup of tea for me.
。
Zhè chá pào le sān cì jiù méi wèi dào le.
This tea lost its flavor after being steeped three times.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

泡 as steep and 茶 as tea together mean to steep tea.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵包泡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

包

包bāo泡pào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

泡 combines 氵 (water) and 包, which supplies the sound. It conveys foam.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

余yú茶chá

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 茶, the 艹 part marks a plant, and the 余 part gives the sound.

Appears in

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