Standard Lemma guide

kombucha

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˌkɑmˈbu.t͡ʃə/
  • General-American: /ˌkɑmˈbu.ʃə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A fermented, effervescent, and sweetened black tea of Mongolian origin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: booch

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Origin disputed. Possibly from Japanese 昆布茶 (konbucha, literally “kelp (konbu) tea”), a different type of beverage, and not related to fermentation. Alternatively, derived from Kombu, reportedly a Korean physician who brought the fermented tea to Japan as a curative for Emperor Inkyo in 414 CE + cha (“tea”).

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: kombutxa — fermented tea
  • Chinese Mandarin: 紅茶菌 /红茶菌 (hóngchájūn) — fermented tea
  • Czech: kombucha — fermented tea
  • Dutch: kombucha — fermented tea
  • Esperanto: kombuĉo — fermented tea
  • Finnish: kombutsa — fermented tea
  • French: kombucha — fermented tea
  • German: Kombucha — fermented tea
  • Māori: tī moī — fermented tea
  • Polish: kombucza — fermented tea
  • Portuguese: kombucha — fermented tea
  • Russian: комбу́тя (kombútja) — fermented tea
  • Spanish: kombucha — fermented tea