Te or the: The spelling that still causes confusion

Te or the - what is the correct spelling? The question has been the subject of discussion in many Danish homes, and although the official spelling in Denmark is the one without h, you still come across the spelling with h from time to time.

Is it called tea or tea?

The history behind the spellings goes back to the 17th century, when the word tea first appeared in the Danish language. The Danish spelling was then derived from the Dutch word thee, and the correct spelling was the or thee. However, it was not long before the spelling 'the' was replaced by 'te'.

In 1872 the first Danish spelling dictionary was published, and since then the official spelling has been without h. But even though the official spelling was established in 1872, it is still not unusual to see the spelling with h.

Where does the word 'tea' come from?

But where does the word tea come from? The word originated in China several thousand years ago, and most of the world's spellings can be traced back to two of China's spellings for tea – te and cha. The Cha spelling comes from Mandarin and is the most widely used spelling in China, while the Te spelling originates from the Chinese Amoy dialect spoken in Fujian province.

Which spelling is used in different countries usually says something about which region of China the country has traded with. Portugal was the first country in Europe to trade tea with the Chinese, and they traded with Cantonese-speaking Macao, which is why tea in Portugal is called cha. All the colonies that Portugal had also call tea cha.

Today, tea is a popular drink all over the world, and it is still part of the Danish culture. Although the official spelling is without the h, the spelling with the h will continue to be used in some contexts. This shows that the Danish language is still developing and that it is a living part of our culture. Personally, we prefer the spelling tea – but what about you?