How to say “tea” around the world

244 languages · 244 in their own spelling

Tea has essentially two names: te-like and cha-like. Where it arrived by sea, on Dutch ships, people say te; where it came overland, along the Silk Road, they say cha — the story “One word, two roads” follows both routes.

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Dots of one colour begin with a similar sound. Colours group words by the class of their first consonant (a sound-class method used in linguistics): words that begin alike share a colour. This shows resemblance, not common origin — proving relationship needs case-by-case comparison. Readable forms come from Wiktionary translation tables; many smaller languages come from the ASJP word lists, in ASJP’s simplified transcription.