3 ms·

There are exceptions since the Portuguese brought tea from India to Europe by sea, and still they call it "cha"

mrob 9y ago
It's mentioned in the article. "And the Portuguese traded not through Fujian but Macao, where chá is used."
trextrex 9y ago
Right, this was probably because it was already called "cha" in India by then, and the Portugese didn't have direct contact with the people speaking Min Nan Chinese, but rather the Indians who used the Sinitic version of the name.
Narishma 9y ago
It's addressed in the article.
ZenoArrow 9y ago
Some people in England also use "cha" as slang for tea. It's not widely used, but it is present. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-usage-of-cha-char-or-chai-to-mean-tea https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-us...
- mhandley 9y ago
  Likely that influence comes from when India was part of the British Empire. Lots of Indian-derived words made it into British English.
  - gerdesj 9y ago
    Pyjamas and bungalow are examples of borrow words from India. India has rather a lot of languages and I don't think you can lump them all into "Indian". "Char" as in "cuppa char?" is the usual spelling (would you like a cup of tea?) According to this: http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/cup-char http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/cup-char it is likely that "char" is derived from Chinese (another country with rather a lot of languages - would the real Chinese please stand up!)
    - Y_Y 9y ago
      I think this is overly snippy. GP just seemed to imply that the words cone from India, not that India has a single language. Also as far as i can tell "cha" is far more common than "char" in the British Isles.
      - gerdesj 9y ago
        "Also as far as i can tell "cha" is far more common than "char" in the British Isles." No, it isn't. "Char" is always the spelling I have encountered here (in 47 years).
    - iamshs 9y ago
      Caravan Thug Juggernaut Guru Avatar Karma Nirvana Cheetah Jungle Are just some Indian words loaned by English. Two interesting words that Punjabi/Hindi has loaned from French is Savon (sabun) and Cartouche (Kartoos).
pedrosorio 9y ago
from China

mrob 9y ago

It's mentioned in the article. "And the Portuguese traded not through Fujian but Macao, where chá is used."

Right, this was probably because it was already called "cha" in India by then, and the Portugese didn't have direct contact with the people speaking Min Nan Chinese, but rather the Indians who used the Sinitic version of the name.

Narishma 9y ago

It's addressed in the article.

ZenoArrow 9y ago

Some people in England also use "cha" as slang for tea. It's not widely used, but it is present. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-usage-of-cha-char-or-chai-to-mean-tea https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/18152/british-us...

mhandley 9y ago
Likely that influence comes from when India was part of the British Empire. Lots of Indian-derived words made it into British English.
- gerdesj 9y ago
  Pyjamas and bungalow are examples of borrow words from India. India has rather a lot of languages and I don't think you can lump them all into "Indian". "Char" as in "cuppa char?" is the usual spelling (would you like a cup of tea?) According to this: http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/cup-char http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/cup-char it is likely that "char" is derived from Chinese (another country with rather a lot of languages - would the real Chinese please stand up!)
  - Y_Y 9y ago
    I think this is overly snippy. GP just seemed to imply that the words cone from India, not that India has a single language. Also as far as i can tell "cha" is far more common than "char" in the British Isles.
    - gerdesj 9y ago
      "Also as far as i can tell "cha" is far more common than "char" in the British Isles." No, it isn't. "Char" is always the spelling I have encountered here (in 47 years).
  - iamshs 9y ago
    Caravan Thug Juggernaut Guru Avatar Karma Nirvana Cheetah Jungle Are just some Indian words loaned by English. Two interesting words that Punjabi/Hindi has loaned from French is Savon (sabun) and Cartouche (Kartoos).

pedrosorio 9y ago

from China