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Whether you say "tea" or "chai" reveals the trade route.

Almost every language has one of two words for tea. "Cha" from Cantonese and Mandarin travelled overland: Persian chay, Russian chai, Arabic shay, Hindi chai. "Te" from the Min Chinese of the port province Fujian came on Dutch ships from 1606: English tea, German Tee, French thé. The exception: Portugal says "chá", having bought tea via Macau since the 1550s.

Useful: A word can be a map: land and sea routes leave different vocabulary behind.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

ChinaEtymologieHandel

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Question on this card

Why do Russians say "chai" but the English say "tea"?

  1. Random pronunciation drift
  2. Tea reached Russia overland, England by sea
  3. Russia imported tea from India
  4. English took the word from Japanese
Show the answer

Correct: Tea reached Russia overland, England by sea

"Cha" travelled the Silk Road, "te" from Fujian aboard Dutch ships.

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