Where Did the Word "Tea" Come From?

Exploring the etymology of the most common words for tea.

The Three Most Common Words for Tea

Tea is a tree, a leaf, a liquor, a good, a service, an idea. From it’s conception, it has inspired poetry and novels and sat at the center of ceremonies and rituals. It is responsible for spiritual revelations, profit gains, jobs, thoughtful conversations, and caffein boosts on your drive to work.

It is known by several names, but less than you might expect. In the entire globe, tea is known mostly by a variation of only three names.

They are “cha,” “chai,” and “tea.”

The first: “cha.”

This was spoken more in Northern China and was passed early on to Japan and Korea. It is possible that the original root of the word did come from the Austro-Asiatic Language family in less common languages, possibly from the word “la.”

The next: “chai.”

This may have been the same “cha” which was passed through Northern China into Persia and then adopted the Persian “-yi” ending. It was thus passed through to parts of India north all the way to Turkey.

Lastly: “tea.”

“Tea” is the most familiar name to those of us born in the West. This may have come from the Southern ports where tea trade was prominent and the southern dialects like in Fujian would say “te”. The Dutch picked up on this pronunciation and then it moved along their trading routes to the West.

This is where tea becomes a story. A story of human relations, language, and power.

The Journey of the Words for Tea

Because no matter how hard we try to conceal it, even the etymology of the word tea sketches the story of how tons came to European shores.

Among the languages that refer to tea as “Cha” you will find Mandarin (茶Chá), Japanese (お茶 Ocha), Korean (차 cha), Thai (ชา Chā), and Portugese (chá sssha). Portugese? The Portugese began trading tea in Macau in the North of China. The popularity of tea in Portugal soon spread to other parts of Europe, and the need to procure tea, and a lot of it, grew.

The languages that refer to tea as “tea” include English, Norwegian (te teh), Hungarian (tea teahh), Tamil (தேநீர்Tēnīr), and Indonesian (teh teh). Tamil and Indonesian?

Major tea brands such a Typhoo and Lipton have been operating in Sri Lanka and Southern India (where Tamil is one of the many languages spoken) for over a hundred years. The word for tea was passed on through this colonialism and is preserved in the languages today.