沏

qī
verb HSK 7-9 #36,467

Meanings

  1. 1 to steep (tea); to brew (tea)

Examples

HSK 1
Wǒ gěi nǐ qī yī bēi chá.
Let me brew you a cup of tea.
HSK 6
Tā yòng kāishuǐ qī le yī hú Lóngjǐngchá.
He brewed a pot of Longjing tea with boiling water.

Tips

usage
沏 is specifically for tea - pouring hot water over tea leaves to brew. It is not used for coffee or other drinks. The most common collocation is 沏茶.

Components

radical
氵 shuǐ
water (radical form of 水)
Three-drops water radical on the left - side form of 水, three abbreviated waves marking everything liquid. Here it carries the meaning literally: 沏 is what you do with boiling water to brewed tea, pouring it onto leaves. Sits in the same water family as 泡 to steep, 浇 to pour, 洗 to wash.
phonetic
切 qiē
to cut
Right side 切 supplies the sound - qiē shifting to qī, a regular tone-and-final shift. The 'to cut' meaning of 切 plays no role here; the phonetic is borrowed purely for sound. 沏茶 'brew tea' is the most common compound - the splash and hiss of hot water meeting leaves is the whole picture.

Stroke Order

沏 qī