noun
rice porridge; congee; gruel
Thin, watery cooked rice, often eaten when sick or as a light meal. Common in Japanese home cooking and hospital food.
風邪のときは、お粥を食べると胃に優しい。
When you have a cold, eating rice porridge is gentle on the stomach.
朝食に卵粥を作った。
I made egg congee for breakfast.
noun
Only with reading しゅく
Specific to Zen Buddhist monastic context; refers to the morning meal, traditionally rice porridge. Reading is しゅく.
禅寺では、粥は修行僧の大切な食事です。
In Zen temples, breakfast (shuku) is an important meal for the monks in training.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is considered difficult or unnecessary.
The kanji 粥 is a pictograph of rice cooking in a pot. The native Japanese reading かゆ is of uncertain origin, possibly related to the verb 炊く (たく, 'to cook rice'). The on'yomi しゅく comes from Middle Chinese.