Learn Romanian › ceai
ceai
tea /ˈtʃe̯aj/
noun#1028 most common
Also: herbal tea (common default sense in Romanian)
Example sentences
Eu beau ceai.
I drink tea.
Vrei o ceașcă de ceai?
Do you want a cup of tea?
Mama pregătește ceai de mușețel în fiecare seară.
Mom makes chamomile tea every evening.
Ceaiul s-a răcit până am ajuns acasă.
The tea got cold by the time I got home.
În magazin găsești ceaiuri din toate colțurile lumii.
In the store you find teas from every corner of the world.
Aroma ceaiului proaspăt preparat s-a răspândit prin toată casa.
The aroma of the freshly brewed tea spread through the whole house.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ceaiul | ceaiurile |
| Genitive | ceaiului | ceaiurilor |
| Accusative | ceaiul | ceaiurile |
| Vocative | ceaiule | ceaiurilor |
Word family
ceainicteapot, kettle
ceainărietea house, tearoom
ceaiuriteas, kinds of tea (plural)
a bea ceaito drink tea
Etymology
Romanian borrowed ceai from Turkish çay during centuries of Ottoman-era trade contact. Turkish çay came from Persian chāy, which traces back to Mandarin Chinese chá. This is the classic overland route by which the word for tea spread west, distinct from the maritime route that gave English tea via Dutch traders who picked up te from Hokkien speakers in southern China. Because ceai is a borrowing rather than inherited vocabulary, it has no Indo-European root of its own.
Learn Romanian the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,027 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,027 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free