Naruto: Why does Sakura say Cha? Explained

With so much focus on Sakura in the recent Sasuke Retsuden chapter, Naruto fans praised the iconic character's growth heavily in the series. While a majority of fans found her annoying in the original Naruto series and Naruto: Shippuden, it seems like their opinion about the character has changed ever since she has become an adult.

While several fans did argue that Sakura had been cool from the very onset, not many fans believed that. However, they started sharing their love for her ever since she has grown as a character.

Out of everything that Sakura has done, there are a few things she has done that especially made fans hate her, including the numerous moments where she has hit Naruto Uzumaki and Rock Lee, alongside her catchphrase "Cha." But the question is, why does Sakura say Cha? What does it mean?

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Naruto: What does Sakura's catchphrase "Cha" mean?

Sakura as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Cha is simply Sakura's catchphrase in its English dub version. While her original catchphrase is "Shannarō," which is something she would say when she is too angry or excited, the English dub version has a forceful "Cha" instead, with Sakura's unique way of saying it.

She tends to use this catchphrase when she is about to punch someone or something. Previously, she majorly used this catchphrase when she was about to punch someone out of anger, which at the time was mostly either Rock Lee or her Team 7 teammate Naruto Uzumaki.

As for the world "Shannarō" itself, it really has no literal meaning, but it can be interpreted as "Hell yeah!," "Hell no!," or "Damn it!" depending on the situation.

Inner Sakura as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Initially, in the original Naruto series, Sakura's inner emotions had a manifestation of their own, known as 'Inner Sakura.' This manifestation would often be seen previously using her catchphrase. However, as time passed by and Sakura started gaining more confidence, Inner Sakura's appearance started to die down, given that she no longer found it necessary to hide her emotions.

Thus, her catchphrase, which was used to add comic relief through Sakura's perspective, was later changed to Sakura using it during tense situations, such as when she is fighting enemies.

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Who else says "Cha" in the Naruto universe?

Sarada as seen in Boruto anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Similar to Sakura, her daughter Sarada Uchiha also has the habit of saying the catchphrase "Shannarō" or "Cha." While Sarada's character design is majorly derived from her father Sasuke Uchiha, it seems like the manga creator decided to give her a personality similar to that of her mother Sakura, which is why she can also be seen saying Sakura's catchphrase "Shannarō" in Japanese, or "Cha!" in English.

However, it seems like fans really aren't fond of the same habit, as unlike Sakura, who used to say the catchphrase when she was about to hit a strong punch, Sarada can be observed to say the same much more frequently.

Fans believe that such dialogs were written by manga creators to show some connection between the parent and the child. Unfortunately, it seems like their efforts were in vain, given how it is quite apparent to viewers as to what they are trying to do.