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绿茶 (lǜ chá) — green tea; (slang) a seemingly innocent but manipulative girl

Definition

Literally 'green tea.' The basic meaning is the drink. In online slang, a 绿茶 (lǜchá) or 绿茶婊 (vulgar) is a girl who acts sweet and innocent to manipulate others — 'that girl is a 绿茶' means she's two-faced.

noun
green tea(slang) a seemingly innocent but manipulative girl
Measure word · 杯

Examples

  • 绿茶。
    Wǒ měi tiān hē yì bēi lǜ chá.
    I drink a cup of green tea every day.
  • 绿茶。
    Mā ma zài shāng diàn mǎi lǜ chá.
    Mom buys green tea at the store.
  • 绿茶，。
    Tā shì lǜ chá, tā bú shì hǎo rén.
    She is a green tea girl; she is not a good person.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

绿lǜgreen
茶chátea

绿 is green and 茶 is tea, so the word names tea that is green.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 綠; 绿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
彔
彔lù綠lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 綠 uses 糸 to show silk and 彔 for sound; the simplified 绿 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 绿 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 2Beverages

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