zou2 caa4早茶
Jyutpingzou2 caa4
Yalejóu chàh
Definition
Morning tea; breakfast with dim sum in a Chinese restaurant.
colloquialdim sumfood
How it's used
Refers specifically to the social ritual of gathering at a restaurant to eat dim sum, rather than just the act of drinking tea. While the term includes the word for morning, it is common for people to continue drinking tea and eating snacks well into the afternoon. The verb used with this noun is almost exclusively 飲, reflecting the central importance of the tea itself in the experience.
Measure word
caan1餐chānExamples
Shall we go for morning tea together tomorrow?
Their whole family goes for morning tea every week.
Related words
Common phrases
to go for morning tea
one pot of tea and two dim sum dishes
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with a standard breakfast at home, which is usually called 食早餐. Using 早茶 to describe a quick bowl of cereal or toast at home will sound very unnatural to native speakers.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
