How to Write 茶 (chá) — Meaning “tea”

Imagine a person (人) standing under a grass roof (艹) next to a tree (木) — that person is picking leaves to make tea. The shape looks like grass above, a person in the middle, and wood below, which helps you recall 茶 means tea.

Write the top radical 艹 first with a horizontal stroke, then two vertical strokes from left to right. A common mistake is making the bottom 木 too large or misplacing the two vertical strokes of 艹 — keep the 木 narrow and centered below the grass.

茶 (chá) uses 余 (person + tree) below the grass radical, while 兹 (zī) has 玄 (dark) below and means 'this' or 'now'. 芈 (mǐ) is a surname with a bottom part like 卩 or 羊 without the top — visually, 茶 has clear '人' and '木' strokes that 兹 and 芈 do not.

茶 is used in everyday words like 喝茶 (drink tea) and 绿茶 (green tea). In Chinese culture, tea is a symbol of hospitality and is often served to guests, and drinking tea is a common social activity in teahouses (茶馆).

Common words containing 茶 include: 喝茶 (hē chá) — To drink tea; 绿茶 (lǜ chá) — green tea; 茶馆 (chá guǎn) — teahouse.