Chai means "tea" in Hindi, so when we order "chai tea," we're asking for "tea tea," at least that's what it sounds like to someone from India. Should we expect marketers not to be redundant when they name products?

By Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl

July 29, 2013

chai tea redundant

Sri pointed out that the phrase chai tea is redundant because chai is the Hindi word for “tea.”

Using a foreign word such as chai to market a product in English creates a problem: When the term is introduced, people are unlikely to know that chai means “tea,” yet foreigners who hear us say "chai tea" hear "tea tea" and think we're ridiculous.

Marketers could be more accurate by creating campaigns that explain the meaning of the foreign name. For example, they could say, “Try our chai: a delicious tea made with sugar and spices,” or they could use a more descriptive name such as, "Try our Indian spiced tea." But it's not realistic to think that marketers are always going to go for precision over an exotic-sounding name, and space is often limited in stores and on signs, so it's not surprising that the concept gets shortened to chai tea.

As a result, in America the phrase chai tea has come to mean the particular kind of tea made in the Indian style. (What Americans call chai tea would be more accurately called masala chai―masala is the mix of spices used to flavor the chai.) If you wish to avoid redundancy (and ridicule from your Indian friends), just ask for chai.

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