<p>The pronunciation of 茶 in ancient china before Han dynasty was like /da/,there are different pronunciation in chinese dialects,in Min dialect,it is very similar to the ancient one.Because of international trade between countries ,it had been borrowed by other language in different historical period from different dialects.together with 茶，is 丝，silk,making us associate them with road of silk.
 to
By the way,荼/t' u/ is originated from 茶，whose pronunciation is similiar to茶 in ancient china.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-23T03:30:51.880Z
2013-07-23T04:00:59.103Z
2013-07-23T04:00:59.103Z
XL _At_Here_There
<h2>Yep, they do</h2>
<p>As you can find on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#The_word_.22tea.22" rel="noreferrer">the great and all knowing wiki</a>, the word for tea in most languages comes from the Chinese:</p>
<h3>Cognate to Min <em>tê</em>:</h3>
<ul>
<li>English <em>tea</em></li>
<li>Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish <em>te</em></li>
<li>Finnish and Estonian <em>tee</em></li>
<li>French <em>thé</em></li>
<li>German <em>Tee</em></li>
<li>Greek <em>τέϊον</em></li>
<li>Hebrew <em>תה</em></li>
<li>Indonesian and Malay <em>teh</em></li>
<li>A great many others</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cognate to Mandarin <em>chá</em>:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Greek <em>τσάι</em></li>
<li>Japanese ちゃ and さ</li>
<li>Korean 차</li>
<li>Kurdish <em>ça</em></li>
<li>Punjabi چا / ਚਾਹ</li>
<li>Portuguese <em>chá</em></li>
<li>Turkish <em>çay</em></li>
<li>And others</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cognate to Mandarin <em>chá</em> via Persian:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Arabic شاي</li>
<li>Czech <em>čaj</em></li>
<li>Georgian ჩაი</li>
<li>Greek <em>τσάι</em></li>
<li>Hindi चाय
Pashto چای</li>
<li>Persian چای</li>
<li>Romanian <em>ceai</em></li>
<li>Russian <em>чай</em></li>
<li>Turkish and Turkmen <em>çay</em></li>
<li>Ukrainian <em>чай</em></li>
<li>Urdu چائے</li>
<li>Others</li>
</ul>
<p>There's some double counting going on here, but I'm just copying from their list.</p>
<p>Here's an interesting map showing the etymology of various words for &quot;tea&quot; in Europe. <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/atJPu.jpg" alt="Etymology map of words for &quot;Tea&quot; in Europe" /></p>

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2013-06-24T16:30:51.023Z
As an aside, some English people refer to a "cup a' cha", meaning a "cup of tea". http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-usage-of-cha-char-or-chai-to-mean-tea
Cocowalla
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2013-06-24T16:35:14.970Z
@Cocowalla Yes, that's listed in the wiki as well. I didn't include it in my answer because it's a usage I've never heard/used.
Stumpy Joe Pete
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2013-06-24T17:20:29.943Z
I've heard some colleagues from Teeside (north east England) use it, so it does still get at least some usage :)
Cocowalla
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2013-06-24T17:29:26.223Z
@Cocowalla I didn't mean to imply that _no one_ uses it, just that _I personally_ am unfamiliar with the usage. Cheers :)
Stumpy Joe Pete
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2013-06-24T07:56:23.993Z
2013-11-07T18:14:05.313Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Stumpy Joe Pete
<p>The Cantonese (<em>Yale</em> cha4), Mandarin (<em>pinyin</em> chá) and Kan’yōon (cha) pronunciations of 茶 are similar to the Russian word чай (<em>IPA</em> t͡ɕaj) for tea. Do these have a common origin?</p>

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2013-06-24T00:59:52.780Z
The geographical proximity would suggest that they might.
James
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2013-06-24T01:29:06.270Z
Yes, they do. [Wikipedia knows all](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#The_word_.22tea.22)
Stumpy Joe Pete
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2013-06-24T07:31:57.200Z
@StumpyJoePete: Thanks. Can you please add this as an answer so as I can close my question?
winerd
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2013-06-26T23:49:30.537Z
@winerd - Can you please confirm this question is about the origin of the Chinese word cha? If it is specifically about the similarities or how the word has influenced other languages this is off topic for this site.
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-27T08:06:59.430Z
@xiaohouzi79: I asked the question because I wanted to know the origin -- as you can read. International words often have some kind of common origin. The answer could have been that the origin of the chinese word was a similar word from Japan for example.
winerd
<pronunciation><etymology>
Similar pronunciations of tea/茶 across languages
# Similar pronunciations of tea/茶 across languages

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-06-23)

The Cantonese (*Yale* cha4), Mandarin (*pinyin* chá) and Kan’yōon (cha) pronunciations of 茶 are similar to the Russian word чай (*IPA* t͡ɕaj) for tea. Do these have a common origin?

**Tags:** pronunciation, etymology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The geographical proximity would suggest that they might.  
> **username_2**: Yes, they do. [Wikipedia knows all](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#The_word_.22tea.22)  
> **username_0**: @username_2: Thanks. Can you please add this as an answer so as I can close my question?  
> **username_3**: @username_0 - Can you please confirm this question is about the origin of the Chinese word cha? If it is specifically about the similarities or how the word has influenced other languages this is off topic for this site.  
> **username_0**: @xiaohouzi79: I asked the question because I wanted to know the origin -- as you can read. International words often have some kind of common origin. The answer could have been that the origin of the chinese word was a similar word from Japan for example.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-06-24. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

## Yep, they do

As you can find on [the great and all knowing wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea#The_word_.22tea.22), the word for tea in most languages comes from the Chinese:

### Cognate to Min *tê*:

* English *tea*
* Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish *te*
* Finnish and Estonian *tee*
* French *thé*
* German *Tee*
* Greek *τέϊον*
* Hebrew *תה*
* Indonesian and Malay *teh*
* A great many others

### Cognate to Mandarin *chá*:

* Greek *τσάι*
* Japanese ちゃ and さ
* Korean 차
* Kurdish *ça*
* Punjabi چا / ਚਾਹ
* Portuguese *chá*
* Turkish *çay*
* And others

### Cognate to Mandarin *chá* via Persian:

* Arabic شاي
* Czech *čaj*
* Georgian ჩაი
* Greek *τσάι*
* Hindi चाय
  Pashto چای
* Persian چای
* Romanian *ceai*
* Russian *чай*
* Turkish and Turkmen *çay*
* Ukrainian *чай*
* Urdu چائے
* Others

There's some double counting username_3 on here, but I'm just copying from their list.

Here's an interesting map showing the etymology of various words for "tea" in Europe. ![Etymology map of words for "Tea" in Europe](https://i.sstatic.net/atJPu.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: As an aside, some English people refer to a "cup a' cha", meaning a "cup of tea". http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-usage-of-cha-char-or-chai-to-mean-tea  
> **username_2**: @username_5 Yes, that's listed in the wiki as well. I didn't include it in my answer because it's a usage I've never heard/used.  
> **username_5**: I've heard some colleagues from Teeside (north east England) use it, so it does still get at least some usage :)  
> **username_2**: @username_5 I didn't mean to imply that _no one_ uses it, just that _I personally_ am unfamiliar with the usage. Cheers :)  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-07-23. Score: 0

The pronunciation of 茶 in ancient china before Han dynasty was like /da/,there are different pronunciation in chinese dialects,in Min dialect,it is very similar to the ancient one.Because of international trade between countries ,it had been borrowed by other language in different historical period from different dialects.together with 茶，is 丝，silk,making us associate them with road of silk.
to
By the way,荼/t' u/ is originated from 茶，whose pronunciation is similiar to茶 in ancient china.


---

