以茶会友
yǐ chá huì yǒu
to make and meet friends over tea
Character by character
以yǐ
with
with
茶chá
tea
tea
会huì
meet
meet
友yǒu
friends
friends
Example
他开了一家小茶馆，以茶会友，认识了不少有意思的人。
He opened a little teahouse, made friends over tea, and has met many interesting people.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Modelled on Zengzi’s 君子以文会友 in the Analects, “the gentleman meets his friends through learning”. A favourite on teahouse signs and tea-event banners.
Learn this in Lesson 35 · HSK 5–6: 喝茶的学问 (The art of tea)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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