茶

Tap the pinyin to hear it

tea; tea plant; CL:杯[bei1],壺|壶[hu2]

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

plant

Components 艹人木

tea · Heisig RSH #261

flower + wooden pole + umbrella

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
山茶花	shān chá huā	camellia
茶马古道	Chá mǎ gǔ dào	old tea-horse road or southern Silk Road, dating back to 6th century, from Tibet and Sichu…
定点茶	dìng diǎn chá	(Tw) (euphemism) prostitute service at a massage parlor or other place designated by the s…
茶饭无心	chá fàn wú xīn	see 茶飯不思\|茶饭不思[cha2 fan4 bu4 si1]
儿茶素	ér chá sù	catechin (biochemistry)
茶话会	chá huà huì	tea party
工夫茶	gōng fu chá	variant of 功夫茶[gong1 fu5 cha2]
山茶	shān chá	camellia
茶水	chá shuǐ	tea prepared in large quantity using inexpensive tea leaves
南非茶	Nán fēi chá	rooibos tea
拉茶	lā chá	teh tarik, an Indian-style tea with milk
白茶	bái chá	white tea
花茶	huā chá	scented tea; CL:杯[bei1],壺\|壶[hu2]
茶花	chá huā	camellia
茶会	chá huì	tea party
长岛冰茶	Cháng dǎo bīng chá	Long Island Iced Tea
茶道	chá dào	Japanese tea ceremony; sado
青草茶	qīng cǎo chá	(Tw) a traditional Taiwanese drink made from cooling medicinal herbs, typically used to re…
红茶	hóng chá	black tea; CL:杯[bei1],壺\|壶[hu2]
茶点	chá diǎn	tea and cake; refreshments; tea and dim sum

These characters use 茶 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
茶 sound part	chá	tea; tea leaves; tea plant
搽	chá	to wipe, to smear, to rub, to anoint