1.
tea-making procedure; tea ceremony technique
The formal procedure of preparing and serving matcha in the Japanese tea ceremony. Encompasses all the prescribed movements, from handling utensils to whisking the tea. Also used to compliment someone's skill at making tea.
お点前を拝見しました。
I had the pleasure of watching your tea-making.
A standard polite phrase used after watching someone perform the tea ceremony.
先生のお点前はとても美しかった。
The teacher's tea ceremony technique was very beautiful.
茶道の稽古では毎回お点前の練習をする。
In tea ceremony practice, we rehearse the tea-making procedure every session.
USAGE:
Primarily used in the context of 茶道 (the way of tea). The polite prefix お is almost always used. Without the prefix, 点前 alone is more technical. Different schools of tea (裏千家, 表千家, etc.) have different styles of お点前.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- お点前を{する (to perform the tea-making procedure)
- お点前を習う (to learn the tea procedure)
- 薄茶のお点前 (thin tea procedure)
- 濃茶のお点前 (thick tea procedure)
ALTERNATE KANJI:
Also written as お手前. Both spellings are accepted, though 点前 is more common in tea ceremony contexts.