Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zi char

/tsə ˈtʃɑ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables: zi char
IPA: /tsə ˈtʃɑ/

20

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Affordable homestyle or restaurant-style Chinese dishes, from stalls commonly found in hawker centres and coffee shops.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Just three shops away, there’s another zhi char (restaurant-style coffee shop) place."
"The places I raved about weren’t the posh, fine-dining restaurants, but the declasse zhi cha joints, preferably with seating in an alleyway next to a longkang."
"Once synonymous with comfort, home-style food, zi char (cooked food in Hokkien) eateries are becoming the hot bed of innovative, if not haute Singaporean cuisine."

Etymology

Borrowed from Singaporean Hokkien 煮炒 (chír-chhá, literally “cook and fry”), with Pinyin-influenced spelling.

Word Breakdown

Root: 煮炒

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /tsə ˈtʃɑ/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

tze char (alternative) zhi cha (alternative) zhi char (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce zi char?: The recorded pronunciation is /tsə ˈtʃɑ/.
What does zi char mean?: Affordable homestyle or restaurant-style Chinese dishes, from stalls commonly found in hawker centres and coffee shops.
Where does zi char come from?: Borrowed from Singaporean Hokkien 煮炒 (chír-chhá, literally “cook and fry”), with Pinyin-influenced spelling.

How to pronounce zi char

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “zi char”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tsə ˈtʃɑ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “zi char”.
Repeat and practice — Say “zi char” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.