chá yè
tea; tea-leaves
我喜欢喝茶叶。
wǒ xǐhuān hē cháyè.
I like drinking tea.
茶叶是中国的主要出口产品之一。
cháyè shì zhōngguó de zhǔyào chūkǒu chǎnpǐn zhī yī.
Tea is one of China's main exports.
绿茶叶比红茶叶更健康。
lǜcháyè bǐ hóngcháyè gèng jiànkāng.
Green tea is healthier than black tea.
茶 (chá)
tea
茗 (míng)
tea
咖啡 (kāfēi)
coffee
可可 (kěkě)
cocoa
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The Chinese word for tea leaves, 茶叶 (chá yè), is composed of two characters: 茶 (chá), meaning "tea", and 叶 (yè), meaning "leaf". The character 茶 is believed to have originated from the ancient Chinese word 荼 (tú), which was used to refer to a bitter herb. Over time, the pronunciation of 荼 changed to 茶, and the character came to be used specifically for tea. The character 叶 is a pictograph that depicts a leaf. When combined, the two characters 茶叶 form a compound word that literally means "tea leaves".
