Meaning & use
chai latte
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A hot drink made with spiced black tea and steamed or frothed milk, often sweetened.
Grammar: Countable when referring to a cup or serving: order a chai latte. Also used uncountably for the drink itself: I like chai latte.
Patterns
- a chai latte
- order a chai latte
- drink a chai latte
She ordered a chai latte with extra cinnamon on top.
This café makes the best chai latte in town.
I usually have a chai latte instead of coffee in the afternoon.
Word forms
| plural | chai lattes |
|---|
Common combinations
- iced chai latte
- On hot days, I switch to an iced chai latte.
- vanilla chai latte
- The café added a vanilla chai latte to its winter menu.
- order a chai latte
- He ordered a chai latte and a blueberry muffin.
- make a chai latte
- You can make a chai latte at home with tea bags and warm milk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- masala chai
- In Indian English, masala chai is spiced tea, often without the large amount of steamed milk that a chai latte has.
- spiced tea
- A general term for tea flavored with spices; it does not necessarily contain milk or foam.
Word family
Commonly confused: chai latte or chai tea?
chai latte vs chai tea
Chai tea literally means 'tea tea' because chai already means tea in many languages. It is common in English but some people consider it redundant.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'chai latte' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A chai latte is a drink, so it is used as a noun and can follow 'drank'. Option 2 is wrong because you drink, not eat, a latte. Options 3 and 4 use it as a verb, which is not correct.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chai latte”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.