kombucha

English

Alternative forms

• komboucha

Etymology

Origin disputed. Possibly from Japanese 昆布茶 (konbucha, literally “kelp (konbu) tea”), a different type of beverage, and not related to fermentation.

Alternatively, derived from Kombu, reportedly a Korean physician who brought the fermented tea to Japan as a curative for Emperor Inkyo in 414 CE + cha (“tea”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑmˈbu.t͡ʃə/, /ˌkɑmˈbu.ʃə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

kombucha (countable and uncountable, plural kombuchas)

1. A fermented, effervescent, and sweetened black tea of Mongolian origin.

   Synonym: (colloquial) booch

   Coordinate terms: kvass, jun

   • 2020, Chad Turner, The Joy of Home Brewing Kombucha‎^[1], Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:

     Kombucha is the primary focus of this book and arguably the most popular home ferment and aforementioned store-bought probiotic drink.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:kombucha.

Derived terms

• booch

Related terms

• kombu

Descendants

• → Portuguese: kombucha
• → Spanish: kombucha

Translations

fermented tea

• Catalan: kombutxa f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紅茶菌 / 红茶菌 (zh) (hóngchájūn)

• Czech: kombucha f
• Esperanto: kombuĉo
• Finnish: kombutsa (fi)
• French: kombucha (fr)
• German: Kombucha (de) m or n
• Japanese: 紅茶キノコ (kōcha kinoko, literally “tea mushroom”)
• Māori: tī moī
• Polish: kombucza (pl) f
• Portuguese: kombucha m or f
• Russian: ча́йный гриб m (čájnyj grib, literally “tea mushroom”), комбу́тя (kombútja)
• Spanish: kombucha (es) f
• Ukrainian: ча́йний гриб m (čájnyj hryb, literally “tea mushroom”)

Further reading

• “kombucha”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “kombucha”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “kombucha”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• kombuchá (semi-adapted spelling)
• combucha, combuchá (adapted spelling)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Japanese 昆布茶 (konbucha)bor.?

English kombuchabor.

Portuguese kombucha

Borrowed from English kombucha.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈbu.ʃɐ/, /kõˈbu.t͡ʃɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈbu.ʃɐ/, /kõˈbu.t͡ʃɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /kõˈbu.ʃa/, /kõˈbu.t͡ʃa/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõˈbu.ʃɐ/, /kõˈbu.t͡ʃɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõˈbu.ʃɐ/, /kõˈbu.t͡ʃɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kõˈbu.t͡ʃɐ/

• Hyphenation: kom‧bu‧cha

Noun

kombucha m or f (plural kombuchas)

1. kombucha (fermented tea)

Usage notes

• The gender of this Portuguese noun varies from speaker to speaker. Some use it as a masculine noun and others as a feminine noun.

Further reading

• “kombucha”, in Dicionário Eletrônico Houaiss [Houaiss Electronic Dictionary] (in Portuguese), São Paulo: UOL, 2004–2026
• “kombucha”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “kombucha”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Alternative forms

• combucha (adapted spelling)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Japanese 昆布茶 (konbucha)bor.?

English kombuchabor.

Spanish kombucha

Borrowed from English kombucha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /komˈbut͡ʃa/ [kõmˈbu.t͡ʃa]
• Rhymes: -utʃa
• Syllabification: kom‧bu‧cha

Noun

kombucha f (plural kombuchas)

1. kombucha (fermented tea)