1.
tea
A beverage made from tea leaves. In Japanese, 茶 typically refers to Japanese green tea by default, though it can refer to tea in general.
Usage: The polite form お茶 is more commonly used in everyday speech. Without any modifier, 茶/お茶 typically means Japanese green tea (緑茶).
Types of tea
Common patterns
Idiom: 茶を濁す means 'to evade the issue' or 'to gloss over something'.
Cultural note
- Serving お茶 to a 客 on arrival is basic hospitality at home and in offices; it is 出す, not offered as a choice.
- Japanese tea is brewed in a 急須 and drunk from a handleless 湯呑み.
- お茶する ("to go for tea") means meeting at a 喫茶店 or café, whatever is actually ordered.