cup of chay

8.4

A cup of tea made with spices, common in South Asia

noun

Indian

: taza de chai

On chilly evenings, nothing warms me more than a cup of chay spiced with ginger and cardamom.

Examples

She served her guests a cup of chay with homemade biscuits.
Would you like a cup of chay?
After dinner, they relaxed with a cup of chay and good conversation.
On winter afternoons, I love having a cup of chay to keep warm.
I enjoy a cup of chay every morning.
Every Sunday, my family gathers for a cup of chay and to share stories from our week.
He offered me a cup of chay to enjoy while we discussed our plans for the festival.

Synonyms

chai

vscup of chay

11 3.7

A hot spiced milk tea from South Asia often sweetened with sugar

is the spiced drink presented as a single serving rather than the drink type

cuppa

vscup of chay

7 9.1

A cup of tea you drink to relax, often at home or with friends

is a casual hot drink, not usually spiced or South Asian

cha

vscup of chay

Slang

1 9.9

An informal British name for tea

is a general informal name, not the spiced South Asian serving

cupper

vscup of chay

9.9

A cup of tea

is an informal serving term that does not imply spicing or South Asian origin

Surface Forms

cup of chay singular

cups of chay plural

Morphology

cup + of + chay

The structure is a simple compositional noun phrase 'cup of' + a beverage name 'chay', so if a learner knows the constituents (in particular that 'chay' = 'tea') the overall meaning 'a cup of tea' is directly derivable. Additionally, 'chay/chai' is a widespread cross-linguistic cognate for tea (e.g. Hindi, Persian, Turkish, Russian), which increases recognizability for many learners and supports full transparency.

Etymology

Cup of chay comes from the word chay, used in many South Asian languages for 'tea'. Imagine a warm cup of spiced, homemade tea; that literal cup of chay is why the phrase means a hot, spiced 'tea' enjoyed after meals or on cold days.