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喝茶 (hē chá) — to drink tea (often implying a social gathering)

Definition

In Chinese, 喝茶 (literally 'drink tea') often means getting together socially for tea — it's a casual invitation to chat, not just a beverage choice. The examples all use it this way.

verb
to drink tea (often implying a social gathering)

Examples

  • ，喝茶。
    Wǒ píng shí bù xǐ huan hē kā fēi, zhī xǐ huan hē chá.
    I don't usually like coffee; I only like drinking tea.
  • 。
    Tā jīn tiān xià wǔ zài chá guǎn hē le yí gè xiǎo shí de chá.
    He drank tea for an hour at the teahouse this afternoon.
  • ，喝茶。
    Nǐ zhōu mò yǒu kòng de huà, wǒ men yì qǐ lái hē chá ba.
    If you‘re free this weekend, let's get together and have some tea.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
曷
曷hé喝hē
Same sound today

The 口 part is a mouth. The 曷 part gives the sound.

Open 喝 →

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.

Open 茶 →
Appears in
Beverages

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