What is the difference between 차례 (次例) and 차례 (茶禮)?

 ANSWER: One means "order" or "sequence," and the other means "ancestor memorial services."

My dictionary defines 차례 (次例) as "order" or "sequence," but it literally means "next (次) example (例)." And my dictionary defines 차례 (茶禮) as "ancestor memorial services," even though it literally means "tea (茶) ceremony (禮)." So, even though the two words are pronounced the same, their Chinese characters and meanings are different.

One may wonder why "tea ceremony" is defined as "ancestor memorial services"? The answer is that a tea ceremony was once part of the services that Koreans performed to memorialize their ancestors. I have read that the practice was ended near the beginning of the Yi Dynasty because it had become too much of an economic burden on people. Back during the time of Goryeo (고려), apparently there was a lot of tea drinking and it seems to have been an expensive habit. Today, 차례 (tea ceremony) is just one of three different ancestor memorial services that some Koreans perform each year, and Koreans now use liquor instead of tea. You can read about 차례 HERE.

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary