The story
- English · derived fromball
- Cantonese · derived from波霸“tapioca pearls” [literally: “big balls]”
- Chinese · derived from波霸
- English todayboba
From Chinese 波霸 (bōbà), from Cantonese 波霸 (bo1 baa3, “tapioca pearls” [literally: “big balls]”), from 波 (bo1) (itself from English ball) and 霸 (baa3, “chief, top”).
Words from the same roots
Cantonese波霸 all →
bubble tea
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.