chai

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Pronunciations

chai (KHYE) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Life.

  • n. The number 18 which is the numerical value of the Hebrew letters that spell the word.

  • n. A necklace with the Hebrew word 'chai' on it.

  • n. Persian black tea, typically flavored with rose water or orange blossom syrup.


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Example Sentences

  • "You should donate $18 because it's 'chai'."

  • "We're buying her a beautiful chay to wear around her neck." (Glinert)

  • "Nevertheless, the meal still begins with the three crucial items that many Iranian Jews have used to break the fast for generations: a cup of fragrant black Persian chai, a soft-boiled egg, and a cup of faloudeh sib – a reviving mix of shredded apples in a lightly sweetened rose water syrup, served over ice." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish
  • Persian

Etymology

  • definitions 1-3: TH חי khai > Y חי khay

    definition 4: چای, lit. 'tea'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      chay

Notes


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