trà sữa trân châu
Boba is translated into Vietnamese as trà sữa trân châu.
The phrase refers to a Taiwanese tea-based drink containing chewy tapioca pearls. The specific component trân châu is used to name the pearls themselves.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase trà sữa trân châu is composed of trà (tea), sữa (milk) and trân châu (pearls).
Which one should you use?
While trà sữa trân châu is the full name, people often shorten it to trà sữa in casual conversation. You may also encounter the informal term Nước trân châu, which translates to 'pearl drink'.
Did you know?
- The term trân châu evokes a sense of luxury because it literally translates to 'precious pearls'.
- The word trà appeared in a Portuguese-Latin dictionary as early as 1651, spelled as 'tlà'.
- In Vietnam, the term trân châu describes the pearls regardless of whether they are the traditional black tapioca or the colorful popping boba varieties.
Examples in context
- Tớ định đi mua trà sữa, cậu muốn gì không?I'm planning to buy milk tea, what do you want?
- Cho tớ một ly nước trân châu nhé!Get me a cup of boba!
- Mời cậu uống trà sữa trân châu đi, rất ngon đấy.I recommend you try boba milk tea, it's really delicious.
- thử nước trân châu thôi nào!Let's try the boba drink now!
- Tôi muốn uống trà sữa trân châu.I want to drink boba.
- Trà sữa trân châu ở đây rất ngon.The boba here is very delicious.
- Bạn có thích trà sữa trân châu không?Do you like boba?
Example conversation
Hùng and Hương are deciding what to drink at a cafe.
- HùngHương ơi, bạn muốn uống gì không?Hương, do you want to drink something?
- HươngMình muốn một cốc trà sữa trân châu.I want a cup of boba.
- HùngĐược, để mình gọi cho bạn nhé.Okay, let me order it for you.
- HươngCảm ơn Hùng nhiều nhé.Thanks a lot, Hùng.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries châu, sữa, trà, CC BY-SA 4.0.
