When “茶” fills a head
Why it is in the set
Because the small break is a real category of thought and nothing else in the set covers it. 休 is rest as a decision; 茶 is the ten minutes you take without deciding anything. It also has a lightly mischievous sense in Japanese — お茶を濁す means to fudge something — which the quips occasionally borrow.
What a head full of it looks like
Standing up for no reason and finding yourself at the kettle. Three half-finished cups on the desk. The particular usefulness of making a drink when you do not want to start a task. A head led by 茶 is taking breaks it has not admitted to.
Words that use it
お茶 (ocha, tea), 茶色 (chairo, brown — “tea colour”), 喫茶店 (kissaten, a coffee shop), 茶道 (sadou, the tea ceremony), お茶を濁す (ocha o nigosu, to fudge an answer).
Kanji it turns up with
甘 (sweet things) behind 茶 is a break with a biscuit in it. 課 (tasks) behind it is procrastination with a kettle.
Where “茶” comes from
The grass radical on top, and below it a form related to 余. A plant, and a sound.
The reading CHA travelled overland from China and became chai, chay and cha across Asia and Russia. The southern reading te went by sea and became tea, thé and Tee. The two words for the same leaf trace two trade routes.
Japanese uses both readings: お茶 (ocha) but 喫茶店 (kissaten, a coffee shop).
A line you might get for “茶”
“The kettle has been on twice. Neither cup was finished.”
Count the “茶” in your own headOthers in “Everyday”
“茶” is filed under “Everyday”. These are the rest of that group.
The 36 kanji
This is entirely a joke and has nothing to do with any real person.