cha
/t͡ʃɑː/noun, particle
cha is spelled C-H-A: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cha means “Tea, (sometimes dialect) specifically masala chai” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cha is chas.
How many letters and syllables are in cha?
| Letters | 3: C-H-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cha?
Cha appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cha?
- /t͡ʃɑː/
Cha has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cha.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cha
Also written: char, chaw, cia.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with cha?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cha from its last stressed vowel (/ə/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ach, cah.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cha
- char UK
- chas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cha mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Tea, (sometimes dialect) specifically masala chai.
Would you like a cup of cha?
- 2
Synonym of Korean foot: a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 30.3 cm.
particle
- 1
Used to count out steps, particularly involving the hip-shaking sections of rhythmic Latin dances.
One–two–cha–cha–cha Three–four–cha–cha–cha
noun
- 1
Initialism of congenital heart anomaly.
- 2
Initialism of charisma point.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does cha come from?
From Chinese 茶 (chá), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-la, via two routes: in some cases from Hindustani चा (cā) / چا (cā) (a variant of the same root, from Persian چا, which led to chai), from Northern Chinese; in other cases from 茶 (chá) /t͡sʰɑː²¹/, the pronunciation found in Canton (Guangzhou), where the British bought much of their tea in the 19th century. Doublet of tea, which is from the Amoy Min Nan pronunciation tê.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).