红茶

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 红茶 (hóngchá) for "black tea" is a compound of two characters: 红 (hóng), meaning "red," and 茶 (chá), meaning "tea." The term "black tea" is a bit of a misnomer, as the tea leaves themselves are not actually black. Rather, the name refers to the dark reddish-brown color of the brewed tea.The character 红 (hóng) is composed of two parts: 日 (rì), meaning "sun," and 工 (gōng), meaning "work" or "labor." This suggests that the character 红 originally represented the sun rising over the horizon, which is often depicted as red.The character 茶 (chá) is composed of three parts: 木 (mù), meaning "wood," 艹 (cǎo), meaning "grass," and 余 (yú), which is a phonetic component. This suggests that the character 茶 originally represented a type of plant that was used to make tea.The combination of the characters 红 (hóng) and 茶 (chá) to form the word 红茶 (hóngchá) is a natural one, as the color of the brewed tea is a deep reddish-brown. The term 红茶 has been used in Chinese for centuries to refer to this type of tea.