Thick thin strong weak

Question

Dear teachers,In my workbook, I found"for coffee, people use strong, and for soup, people use thick".But I remember I read once, somewhere, "thick and thin can be used for tea".So, I got quite confused.Would you be so kind to let me know what word do you usually usefor coffee, tea, soup, and if there are any other drinks and liquidsfor which you use other words to describe its ...its....now I do'nt know how to call it in English. We call it "kosa" and "ususa" in Japanese. We can use "koi" for thick/strong and "usui" for thin/weakfor all kinds of drinks/liquids, I believe.Warmest regards,blissfarm

Khoff · Accepted Answer

Interesting question. I would describe tea and coffee as "strong" or "weak." "Thin" or "thick" tea would sound very strange to me, although it's possible that it's more common in some other English-speaking part of the world. (I'm in the U.S.) "Strong" and "weak" describe the strength of the beverage. If you leave the tea bag/leaves in the hot water for a longer time, the tea becomes stronger.

Soup can be "thin." I suppose the opposite of "thin soup" could be "thick soup," although "thick" sounds sort of unappetizing -- a restaurant menu would be more likely to call it a "hearty" soup. But if you wanted to ask about the texture or consistency of the soup, you could ask, "Is this a thick soup or a thin soup?"

Anonymous · Answer

Dear khoff,

Thank you very much for your detailed reply.

(Sorry for my late reply.........)

I see, then my memory might have been wrong.

(Wasn't there a phrase to describe a strong cup of tea,

which goes like this;

you can stand a spoon in the cup because the tea is so strong?

Probably this is why I connect "thick" and "strong tea".)

Now I can use strong and weak for both coffee and tea, with confidence!

Also thank you for the additional info regarding thick / hearty soup.

Yes, I have seen several times the word "hearty soup" in the titles of

soup recipe. Now I understand them correctly.

Thank you again!

Warmest regards,

blissfarm

Khoff · Answer

You're welcome. It's nice to know when people actually find our replies helpful!

I would add a couple of thoughts -- someone might jokingly refer to very strong coffee or tea as if it were actually thick -- "

Anonymousyou can stand a spoon in the cup because the tea is so strong

-- but note that even in the quote, they use the word "strong."
Also, the British have considerably more history and culture surrounding than Americans do -- it's possible that they use slightly different terminology. (For example, I'm familiar with the British expression "I'll be Mother" meaning "I'll serve the tea," but I have no idea if anyone stilll uses it or it disappeared 100 years ago -- or, for that matter, if it only existed in novels.) Do any Brits want to join this discussion?

Anonymous · Answer

The phrase 'I'll be mother', or 'Who's going to be mother (mum)' isn't used so much anymore, as it's used when pouring from a teapot, and most people use teabags into cups these days. When it is used, it's usually done jokingly, kind of acknowledges that what they're doing (using a teapot) is a bit dated. It can also be used when pouring, for example, from a wine bottle, it's a bit like saying that you're taking charge by pouring for everyone, but you're trying to be helpful, not bossy.
Tea can be strong enough to stand a spoon in it (not literally). The same kind of strength can also be referred to as 'builder's brew', and is really dark and strong. I've known tea that strong to be accompanied by 5-6 sugars. Not my cup of tea at all, excuse the pun!
With soup, yep, in England, we do call it thick soup.

Thick thin strong weak

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