cha

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cha"

Languages (30)

Translingual • English

---

Alemannic German • Atong (India) • Chichewa • Gullah • Irish • Japanese • Kapampangan • Lower Sorbian • Malay • Mandarin • Manx • Navajo • Pacoh • Pali • Pipil • Romansh • Scottish Gaelic • Spanish • Swahili • Swazi • Tagalog • Vietnamese • Welsh • Western Apache • Woleaian • Ye'kwana • Zacatepec Chatino • Zulu

---

Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English and Chamorro Chamorro.

Symbol

cha

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Chamorro.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Chamorro terms

English

Etymology 1

From Chinese 茶 (chá), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-la, via two routes: in some cases from Hindustani चा (cā) / چا (cā) (a variant of the same root, from Persian چا, which led to chai), from Northern Chinese; in other cases from 茶 (chá) /t͡sʰɑː²¹/, the pronunciation found in Canton (Guangzhou), where the British bought much of their tea in the 19th century. Doublet of tea, which is from the Amoy Min Nan pronunciation tê.

Alternative forms

• char (British)
• chaw (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Noun

cha (uncountable)

1. Tea, (sometimes dialect) specifically masala chai.

   Would you like a cup of cha?

   • 1934 August 4, George Herriman, Krazy Kat, Saturday, comic strip, →ISBN, page 206:

     [Krazy Kat, bringing a full tray:] Look, folkses – hot dogs, hot cha, hot peppa pots, hot timollies – hot kuffy. ^[sic]

Derived terms

• chasericulture

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃʌ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌ

Pronoun

cha

1. (dialectal, nonstandard) Pronunciation spelling of you, especially when preceded by a /t/ sound.
   • 1976, Flying Magazine, page 34:

     You mean you can't fly after you've had a few beers? You can drive, can't cha?

   • 2005, Busta Rhymes, CeeLo Green, “Don't Cha”, performed by Pussycat Dolls:

     Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?

   • 2008, Barbara L. Jent, The Weddin' Day, Barbara Jent, →ISBN, page 157:

     “You'll be ridin' with us, won't cha, Josh?”

Derived terms

• dincha
• doncha
• gotcha

Related terms

• -cha

Etymology 3

From cha-cha (q.v.).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Particle

cha

1. (dance) Used to count out steps, particularly involving the hip-shaking sections of rhythmic Latin dances.

   One–two–cha–cha–cha
   Three–four–cha–cha–cha

Derived terms

• ha-cha-cha

Etymology 4

From the McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean 자 (ja).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Noun

cha (plural chas or cha)

1. (Korean units of measure) Synonym of Korean foot: a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 30.3 cm.

See also

• cha chaan teng

Anagrams

• ACH, CAH, HAC, HCA, ach, cah

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

• cheemen, cheme, cho, chomu, choo, chéeme

Etymology

From Old High German kweman, chuman, from Proto-Germanic *kwemaną. Cognate with German kommen, Dutch komen, English come, Icelandic koma, Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman).

Verb

cha

1. (Uri) to come

Conjugation

Conjugation of cha – Urner dialect

infinitive		cha
past participle		cha
		singular			plural
		1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
		ich, i	du	er/si/es	mir	ir	si
indicative	present	chuume	chunsch	chunt	chemme	chemmet	chemme
subjunctive	present	chemm, chemmi	chemmesch	chemm, chemmi	chemme	chemmet	chemme
	past	chëm, chëmi, chëmt, chëmti, chiem, chiemi	chëmesch, chëmtesch, chiemesch	chëm, chëmi, chëmt, chëmti, chiem, chiemi	chëme, chëmte, chieme	chëmet, chëmtet, chieme	chëme, chëmte, chieme
imperative	affirmative	—	chu	—	—	chemmet	—

Derived terms

• ubercha

References

• Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 86.

Atong (India)

Alternative forms

• char

Etymology

From Hindi चार (cār).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ɕa/

Numeral

cha (Bengali script চা)

1. four

Synonyms

• byryi
• por

References

• van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary. Stated in Appendix 3.

Chichewa

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-kéa (“to dawn - zone N”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃa/

Verb

-cha (infinitive kuchá)

1. to dawn
2. to mature, ripen (fruit)

Derived terms

• Verbal derivations:
  • Causative: -cheza
  • Negative: -sacha
  • Passive: -chedwa

References

• Steven Paas (2016), Oxford Chichewa-English/English - Chichewa Dictionary‎^[1], Oxford University Press, page 35

Gullah

Etymology 1

From Yoruba ja ("to fight, strive").

Alternative forms

• 'cha, ja, chacha, jaja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɟɑ/, /t͡ʃɑ/, /d͡ʒɑ/, /t͡ʃɑ.t͡ʃɑ/

Verb

cha

1. quarrel

Usage notes

• It is common for this verb to be reduplicated for grammatical purposes.

Etymology 2

From English you.

Alternative forms

• chuh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃə/, /t͡ʃʌ/

Pronoun

cha

1. (grammar) you

References

• Lorenzo Dow Turner, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1969)

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish níco(n), noco(n), nocho(n), nocha(n), from Old Irish nícon, nacon, from ní con.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ha(ː)/

Particle

cha (Triggers lenition of b, c, f, g, m, p, s. Triggers eclipsis of d, t.)

1. (Ulster) not

   Cha phósann sí é.

   She will not marry him.

   Cha dtugaim.

   I do not give, I will not give.

Usage notes

Used only in some varieties of Ulster Irish. Not used with the future tense; a future meaning can be conveyed by using it with the present tense.

Synonyms

• ní (used in Munster Irish, Connacht Irish, and some varieties of Ulster Irish)

Related terms

• chan (used before vowel sounds)
• char (used before the past tense)

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “cha”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “nícon”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Japanese

Romanization

cha

1. The hiragana syllable ちゃ (cha) or the katakana syllable チャ (cha) in Hepburn romanization.

Kapampangan

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese 茶 (chá), highly likely via Cantonese caa⁴ rather than Hokkien tê.

Noun

cha

1. tea

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xa/

Noun

cha m inan

1. The name of the Latin script letter ch/Ch.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čet, ćej, dej, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot, ka, eł, el, em, en, ejn, o, pej, er, ejŕ, es, eš, śej, tej, u, wej, y, zet, žet, źej

Malay

Etymology

Likely from Cantonese 茶 (caa4).

Noun

cha (plural cha-cha or cha²)

1. (obsolete) tea

   Synonym: teh

Mandarin

Romanization

cha

1. nonstandard spelling of chā
2. nonstandard spelling of chá
3. nonstandard spelling of chǎ
4. nonstandard spelling of chà

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Manx

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish níco(n), noco(n), nocho(n), nocha(n), from Old Irish nícon, nacon, from ní con. Compare Irish ní, cha, Scottish Gaelic cha.

Particle

cha

1. not

   Cha bee'n poosey ayn. ― The marriage will not take place.

   Cha vel blass er. ― It has no taste.

Usage notes

• Used with the dependent form of a verb. With the copula, the verb may be suppressed.
• Becomes chan before a vowel.

Etymology 2

Adverb

cha

1. alternative form of cho

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “nícon”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Navajo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃʰɑ̀/

Noun

cha

1. crying, weeping

Pacoh

Etymology

From Proto-Katuic *caa, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *caʔ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [caː]

Verb

cha 

1. to eat

Derived terms

• pacha ("to feed")
• tanna ("food")

Pali

Pali cardinal numbers

<  5	6	7  >
Cardinal : cha     Ordinal : chaṭṭha

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• 𑀙 (Brahmi script)
• छ (Devanagari script)
• ছ (Bengali script)
• ඡ (Sinhalese script)
• ဆ or ꧡ (Burmese script)
• ฉ or ฉะ (Thai script)
• ᨨ (Tai Tham script)
• ຉ or ຉະ (Lao script)
• ឆ (Khmer script)
• 𑄍 (Chakma script)

Etymology

Possibly from Sanskrit *ट्षष् (*ṭṣaṣ), variant of षष् (ṣaṣ); see there for further etymology.

Numeral

cha

1. six

Declension

Optionally indeclinable.

Declension table of "cha"

Case \ Number	Plural
Nominative (first)	cha
Accusative (second)	cha
Instrumental (third)	chahi
Dative (fourth)	channaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	chahi
Genitive (sixth)	channaṃ
Locative (seventh)	chasu

Pipil

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃa/

Verb

-cha

1. clipping of -chiwa

Romansh

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Conjunction

cha

1. (Puter, Vallader) that

Alternative forms

• che (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan)
• ca, c' (Sutsilvan)
• tgi (Surmiran)

Pronoun

cha

1. (Puter, Vallader) who, whom

Alternative forms

• che (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan)
• tge (Sutsilvan)
• tgi (Surmiran)

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish nochan, from Old Irish nícon, from ní (“not”) + con (“toward”). Cognates include Irish cha and Manx cha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xa/
• Hyphenation: cha

Particle

cha (governs the dependent form of the verb, lenites)

1. negative verb particle: not

   Cha robh bean aig Iain. ― Ian didn't have a wife.

Usage notes

• Before a word starting with a vowel or fh, the form chan is used.
• Lenites the following word unless it starts with t or d, although in some dialects those words may be lenited as well.

Verb

cha

1. Negative forms of the copula: is not

   Cha mhise m’ athair. ― I am not my father.

   Cha bhòrd bòrd gun aran ach ’s bòrd aran leis fhèin. ― A table without bread is no table but bread is a table by itself.

   Cha toigh leam càise. ― I don't like cheese.

Usage notes

• Before a word starting with a vowel or fh, the form chan is used.
• Lenites the following word unless it starts with t or d, although in some dialects those words may be lenited as well.
• Does not lenite pronouns except for mi, mise.

Inflection

Conjugation of is (highly irregular, defective)

		singular			plural
		first	second	third m/f	first	second	third
independent	present	is mi	is tu	is e/i	is sinn	is sibh	is iad
	past	bu mhi	bu tu	b' e/i	bu sinn	bu sibh	b' iad
	conditional
negative	present	cha mhi	cha tu	chan e/i	cha sinn	cha sibh	chan iad
	past	cha bu mhi	cha bu tu	cha b' e/i	cha bu sinn	cha bu sibh	cha b' iad
	conditional
affirmative interrogative	present	am mi?	an tu?	an e/i?	an sinn?	an sibh?	an iad?
	past	am bu mhi?	am bu tu?	am b' e/i?	am bu sinn?	am bu sibh?	am b' iad?
	conditional
Negative interrogative	present	nach mi?	nach tu?	nach e/i?	nach sinn?	nach sibh?	nach iad?
	past	nach bu mhi?	nach bu tu?	nach b' e/i?	nach bu sinn?	nach bu sibh?	nach b' iad?
	conditional

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “nícon”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Mark, Colin (2003), “cha”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 129

Spanish

Alternative forms

• chá

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese chá, from Macanese Cantonese 茶 (caa⁴). Compare Tagalog tsaa, Cebuano tsa. Doublet of té.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃa/ [ˈt͡ʃa]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: cha

Noun

cha m (plural chas)

1. (Philippines, historical) tea

   Synonym: té

Further reading

• “cha”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Abella, Venancio María de (1874), Vade-Mecum Filipino ó manual de la conversacion familiar Español-Tagalog. Seguido de un curioso Vocabulario de Modismos Manileños., 12.ᵃ edition (overall work in Philippine Spanish and Tagalog), Escolta, Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier, á cargo de C. Miralles., page 115

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-kéa (“to dawn”).

Verb

-cha (infinitive kucha)

1. to dawn, (of the sun) to rise

   Antonym: -chwa

2. to fear, be afraid

Usage notes

In Standard Swahili, the sense "to fear" is used of reverential fear, generally fearing God. However, in the Mombasa dialect, it is used as a synonym of -ogopa.

Conjugation

Conjugation of -cha
Positive present -nakucha Subjunctive -che Negative -chi Imperative singular kucha
Infinitives
Positive kucha Negative kutokucha
Imperatives
Singular kucha Plural kucheni
Tensed forms
Habitual hucha Positive past positive subject concord + -likucha Negative past negative subject concord + -kucha
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nakucha) Singular Plural 1st person ninakucha/nakucha tunakucha 2nd person unakucha mnakucha 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anakucha wanakucha other classes positive subject concord + -nakucha
Negative present (negative subject concord + -chi) Singular Plural 1st person sichi hatuchi 2nd person huchi hamchi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) hachi hawachi other classes negative subject concord + -chi
Positive future positive subject concord + -takucha Negative future negative subject concord + -takucha
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -che) Singular Plural 1st person niche tuche 2nd person uche mche 3rd person m-wa(I/II) ache wache other classes positive subject concord + -che
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -siche Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngekucha Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singekucha Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalikucha Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalikucha
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -acha) Singular Plural 1st person nacha twacha 2nd person wacha mwacha 3rd person m-wa(I/II) acha wacha m-mi(III/IV) wacha yacha ji-ma(V/VI) lacha yacha ki-vi(VII/VIII) chacha vyacha n(IX/X) yacha zacha u(XI) wacha see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwacha pa(XVI) pacha mu(XVIII) mwacha
Perfect positive subject concord + -mekucha "Already" positive subject concord + -meshakucha "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jacha "If/When" positive subject concord + -kicha "If not" positive subject concord + -sipokucha Consecutive kacha / positive subject concord + -kacha Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kache
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -nicha -tucha 2nd person -kucha -wacha/-kucheni/-wacheni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -mcha -wacha m-mi(III/IV) -ucha -icha ji-ma(V/VI) -licha -yacha ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kicha -vicha n(IX/X) -icha -zicha u(XI) -ucha see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kucha pa(XVI) -pacha mu(XVIII) -mucha Reflexive -jicha
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -cha- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -chaye -chao m-mi(III/IV) -chao -chayo ji-ma(V/VI) -chalo -chayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chacho -chavyo n(IX/X) -chayo -chazo u(XI) -chao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -chako pa(XVI) -chapo mu(XVIII) -chamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -kucha) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yekucha -okucha m-mi(III/IV) -okucha -yokucha ji-ma(V/VI) -lokucha -yokucha ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chokucha -vyokucha n(IX/X) -yokucha -zokucha u(XI) -okucha see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kokucha pa(XVI) -pokucha mu(XVIII) -mokucha
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

Derived terms

• Verbal derivations:
  • Applicative: -chea
  • Causative: -chesha
  • Passive: -chewa

• Nominal derivations:
  • mcha

Etymology 2

Other scripts
Ajami	گَـ

Particle

cha

1. ki class_(VII) inflected form of -a

Swazi

Interjection

cha

1. no

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃa/ [ˈt͡ʃa]
  • IPA^(key): (no palatal assimilation) /ˈtsa/ [ˈt͡sa]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: cha

Noun

cha (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜐ)

1. alternative form of tsa

Etymology 2

From fast pronunciation spelling of tihaya.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃaʔ/ [ˈt͡ʃaʔ]
  • IPA^(key): (no palatal assimilation) /ˈtsaʔ/ [ˈt͡saʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: cha

Adjective

châ (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜐ) (card games, dated, slang)

1. face-up (in playing cards)

   Synonym: tihaya

   Antonyms: chub, taob

Alternative forms

• chaya, tsaya

See also

• pog
• tao
• teks

Vietnamese

Etymology

Compare Limchowese 吒 (zaa1, “father”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [caː˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Noun

cha • (吒, 𤕔)

1. (literary, dated, otherwise Catholicism) father

   Synonyms: ba, bố, thầy, cậu, tía, áng

2. (Southern Vietnam, humorous) dude

   Synonyms: bố, cha nội

   Thôi dẹp đi cha!

   Stop it, dude!

Pronoun

cha

1. (dated or literary) I/me, your father
2. (dated or literary) you, my father
3. (Catholicism) you, father

Derived terms

• cha chú
• cha con
• cha đẻ
• cha mẹ
• cha nhà thờ
• cha nội
• chả
• chém cha
• ông cha
• thằng cha
• tổ cha

Welsh

Verb

cha

1. aspirate mutation of ca

Mutation

Mutated forms of ca

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
ca	ga	ngha	cha

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Western Apache

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tʃa]

Noun

cha

1. beaver

Woleaian

Etymology

From Proto-Micronesian *caa, from Proto-Oceanic *draʀaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *daʀaq, from Proto-Austronesian *daʀaq.

Noun

cha

1. blood

Verb

cha

1. (stative) red
2. (stative) bloody, bleeding

Ye'kwana

Variant orthographies

ALIV	cha
Brazilian standard	cha
New Tribes	cha

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t͡ʃa]

Particle

cha

1. Allomorph of ka (interrogative particle) used after words that end in i.

Zacatepec Chatino

Adjective

cha

1. sharp

Zulu

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ǀʰá/

Interjection

cha

1. no

   Synonym: qha

References

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “cha”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “cha (2)”