酎
sake
Readings
On'yomi
- チュウ
- チュ
Kun'yomi
- かも.す
Meaning
酎 centers on a specific type of strong, distilled sake. It refers to a potent alcoholic drink rather than sake in general.
Most common words using 酎
- 焼酎しょうちゅうN1
shōchū; Japanese spirit distilled from sweet potatoes, rice, etc.
- 酎ハイちゅうハイ
chūhai; shōchū highball; cocktail of shōchū with tonic water
- 酎ちゅう
shōchū
- しそ焼酎しそしょうちゅう
red perilla shōchū; shiso shōchū
- そば焼酎そばしょうちゅう
buckwheat shōchū; soba shōchū
- 本格焼酎ほんかくしょうちゅう
shōchū made by the simple distillation process
- 栗焼酎くりしょうちゅう
chestnut shōchū
- 焼酎ハイボールしょうちゅうハイボール
shōchū high-ball
- 焼酎漬けしょうちゅうづけ
fruit, etc. preserved in shōchū
- 球磨焼酎くまじょうちゅう
Kumamoto rice shōchū
- 米焼酎こめしょうちゅう
rice shōchū
- 粕取り焼酎かすとりしょうちゅう
shōchū made from sake lees
- 胡麻焼酎ごましょうちゅう
sesame shōchū
- 芋焼酎いもじょうちゅう
sweet potato shōchū
- 麦焼酎むぎしょうちゅう
barley shōchū
- 黒糖焼酎こくとうしょうちゅう
brown sugar shōchū
Study
Etymology
酎 combines 酉 (a jar for alcohol) with 寸, which likely acts as a phonetic component here. The character originally referred to a strong distilled liquor.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 酉 is a sake jar, and the right side 寸 looks like a measuring hand. Imagine a hand carefully measuring out a potent, distilled sake from the jar.
Reading mnemonic
For チュウ, imagine chewing a piece of strong sake-flavored candy: chew -> チュウ, and the strong taste matches the potent drink.