茶

茶 (chá) is the Chinese word for tea — the leaf, the drink, and by extension the social ritual built around it. In daily speech 茶 covers everything from green tea (绿茶) and black tea (红茶, literally 'red tea') to oolong, jasmine, and bubble tea (奶茶). The register is fully neutral: you can use it with friends, in a restaurant, or in writing.

Two things differ from English: first, the default 茶 in Chinese culture is hot and unsweetened, so when ordering iced or sweet tea you have to say so; second, 红茶 means what English calls 'black tea' — Chinese names the tea after the color of the liquid, not the leaves. Native speakers also say 喝茶 (hē chá, 'drink tea') casually to mean 'come over and hang out.'