In Chinese, the pronunciation of the Chinese character for tea, 茶,is "cha". William de Morgan, the Edwardian artist and novelist, used the phrase in the novel "He may be a bit hot-tempered and impulsive... otherwise, it's simply impossible to help liking him." Learn more about Stack Overflow the company As to BrE, I have no idea. Tea remains our cup of tea here in the UK. Contribute your slang! slang A cup of tea. Shes always there for all of her friends, she puts others first before herself too much though. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.slang A cup of tea. A person, usually a girl, who is extraordinary in every way, shape, and form. (certainly it's well known in the subcontinental immigrant population)My instinct is that cha/char is predominantly lower class, used both in the East End of London and in the North, but I can't point you at any source to back that up.cha means tea in portuguese. The expression is more often used in the 'not my cup of tea' form these days. The phrase comes from rhyming slang in which "Lee" rhymes with "tea." I don't think it is heard particularly often, but you might see or hear the phrase "cup of char and a wad" (meaning "cup of tea and a slice of cake") in a WWII context for example.I seem to recall that Reggie Perrin used this expression in David Nobbs' novel 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' back in the 1970s, but even then the café waitress didn't understand it and he had to translate.

I'm not sure why this would be true (if it is) since "China/Chinese" has К, not Ч.It's probably wrong because in most languages, China ultimately derives from the Qin dynasty (秦 qín - pronounced "chin") who unified all Thanks for the information… I don't exactly know how this pertains to current usage in specific dialects.

Curiously I don't think the Brits would ever use these colloquialisms when ordering or referring to Chinese tea. Note that the original pronunciation of 'pass' would have been 'parse', to rhyme with 'arse'. We tweet new slang every day! English Language & Usage Meta Rosy Lee (uncountable) (Cockney rhyming slang) Tea (the drink).I'll put the kettle on and make us a cup … slang A cup of tea. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. Any input on that?Honestly, I only ever see it on restaurant menus or to refer to specific drinks like I suggest citing a source that clearly links the two. Anybody can ask a question Here is 35 blooming brilliant things Brits may say, and what they actually mean… Anyone familiar with cockney rhyming slang will know this phrase. Disclaimer.

never heard any britain, australian or american saying that in english though.As an American, "chai" refers to a specific drink, perhaps you'd call it a kind of tea, but it's not widely used (if at all!) Stack Exchange network consists of 177 Q&A communities including It only takes a minute to sign up. Untill now I thought it was an Urdu word but it seems from the above references that it is a native or slang English word for tea.This is all true, though I don't think it's hugely rare, just antiquated. cockney_rhyming_slang idioms. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top An early example of it is found in Hal Boyle's The change from the earlier positive 'my cup of tea' phrase, to the dismissive 'not my cup of tea' doesn't reflect the national taste for the drink itself. My point was only to say that It actually originally comes from Persian, not from 'Indian languages'. to refer to tea in general.Chai is what we call tea for sure in Pakistan. Anybody can answer (The two Chinese characters shown are the same, with two different pronunciations. Although it's rare now, 'char' used to be in common use in England, at least among the working class. A LOT of Punjabi/Hindi words are from PersianI've been told that "Чай" derives from "China", that is, Chinese tea. Archaic made or … Rosie Lee definition: tea | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples In the early 20th century, a 'cup of tea' was such a synonym for acceptability that it became the name given to a favoured friend, especially one with a boisterous, life-enhancing nature. To which Sally replied, borrowing an expression from Ann the housemaid, that Fenwick was a cup of tea. Rosie Lee meaning: 1. a way of referring to the drink tea: 2. a way of referring to the drink tea: .

Primarily heard in UK.

in color; rose-red or pink; often, blushing or flushed with a healthy, blooming red: rosy cheeks 2. site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under ', 'Tea and sympathy', 'Rosie Lee', 'Storm in a teacup' and so on.In the early 20th century, a 'cup of tea' was such a synonym for acceptability that it became the name given to a favoured friend, especially one with a boisterous, life-enhancing nature. I heard it commonly when I was living in NZ, don't know how widespread is in the UK or USA.Indeed, most languages in the world use a variant of In reality very few languages use tea/thé/tè/té (English, French, Italian/ Spanish and maybe a few others). The term comes from rhyming slang in which "Rosie" is short for "Rosie Lee," which rhymes with "tea." A cuppa denotes drinking Indian or Ceylon tea in the UK. It was metaphorical and descriptive of invigoration.People or things with which one felt an affinity began to be called 'my cup of tea' in the 1930s. Be warned: if you fall for a Rosie, she will steal your heart, but do not be alarmed, for it is in the hands of an Angel, and she will return the amount of trust and love you give her back to you, including the giving of her warm, loving heart.

By the way, in Cantonese dialect, a main dialect of Chinese, 茶 (tea) is pronounced as "te".It's now antiquated, except for the use of "chai" of spiced tea.The use as a general term for tea (all variants mentioned) dates from the time of the Raj, and has declined. slang A cup of tea. Learn more. Primarily heard in UK.