茶気

Japanese

Kanji in this term
茶	気
ちゃ Grade: 2	き Grade: 1
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
茶氣 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕa̠kʲi]

Noun

茶(ちゃ)気(き) • (chaki) 

1. knowledge or understanding of tea ceremony
   • 2009 [1906], Naoko Thornton Fuwa, Cha no hon, translation of The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō, page 10:

     西(せい)洋(よう)人(じん)は、東(とう)洋(よう)人(じん)のことを「茶(ちゃ)気(き)があるすぎる」と言(い)って笑(わら)うかもしれませんが、 […]

     Seiyōjin wa, tōyōjin no koto o “chaki ga aru sugiru” to itte warau kamoshiremasen ga, […]

     Westerners may laugh at Asian people for “excessive sense of tea”...

2. a sense of refinement, elegance
   • 2009 [1906], Naoko Thornton Fuwa, Cha no hon, translation of The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō, page 10:

     […] 笑(わら)うかもしれませんが、私(わたし)たちから見(み)ると、西(せい)洋(よう)人(じん)は、生(う)まれつき「茶(ちゃ)気(き)がまるっきりない」のではないかと思(おも)いたくなります。

     […] warau kamoshiremasen ga, watashitachi kara miru to, seiyōjin wa, umaretsuki “chaki ga marukkiri nai” no de wa nai ka to omoitakunarimasu.

     ...but seeing this, we are tempted to believe that Westerners have by nature “zero sense of refinement”.

3. mischievousness, playfulness, teasing

   Synonym: 茶目っ気 (chamekki)

See also

• 茶(さ)道(どう) (sadō, “tea ceremony”)