茶 (chá) is a Chinese character meaning “tea”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 𠆢 (roof-shaped top form of 人 (person)) and 朩 (wood shape whose slanting strokes stand apart from the vertical), and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “tea”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 𠆢 + 朩
Top–middle–bottom structure
- 艹 grass / plant radical · cǎo meaning
- 𠆢 roof-shaped top form of 人 (person) · rén unknown
- 朩 wood shape whose slanting strokes stand apart from the vertical unknown
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（现代字形拆分：3+2+4=9 笔）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) grows on top, a little roof (𠆢) shelters what is under it, and a bare wood shape (朩) holds it up: leaves kept under a roof, waiting to be brewed — tea.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 茶叶chá yètea leaves茶 = cháHSK 2
- 红茶hóng cháblack tea茶 = cháHSK 3
- 浓茶nóng chástrong tea茶 = chá
- 茶壶chá húteapot茶 = chá
- 茶盏chá zhǎnsmall teacup茶 = chá
Go deeper
All readings
tea
tea; the tea plant; tea leaves; a drink brewed from them
常绿灌木，叶子可以加工成饮料；也指用它的叶子泡成的饮料。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 茶叶chá yètea leaves茶 = cháHSK 2
- 红茶hóng cháblack tea茶 = cháHSK 3
- 浓茶nóng chástrong tea茶 = chá
- 茶壶chá húteapot茶 = chá
- 茶盏chá zhǎnsmall teacup茶 = chá
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 茶 mean?
茶 (chá) means tea; the tea plant; tea leaves; a drink brewed from them.
How do you pronounce 茶?
It is pronounced chá.
What parts is 茶 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 𠆢 (roof-shaped top form of 人 (person)) and 朩 (wood shape whose slanting strokes stand apart from the vertical). The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（现代字形拆分：3+2+4=9 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 茶 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 茶?
艹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 茶?
Common ones are 茶叶 and 红茶. The reading of 茶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.