シラフ

シ

ラ

フ

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

sobriety; soberness

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the state of not being drunk. Often used in phrases like シラフで (while sober) or シラフに戻る (to sober up).

Kanji

素elementary, principle, naked
面mask, face, features
白white

Opposites

泥でい酔すい
しらふ means sober and completely unaffected by alcohol, the direct opposite state from 泥酔.
酔よいN2
素面 describes a sober state with no trace of alcohol, the direct opposite of 酔い's drunken state.

Don't confuse with

素す顔がおN1
素面 is the standard modern word for being sober, whereas 素顔 only rarely carries that meaning and normally means a bare or true face.

Written forms

シラフUsage19%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is common in modern usage, especially in casual contexts.
素面しらふUsage41%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Kanji form with gikun reading; rarely used.
しらふUsage33%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Hiragana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
白面しらふUsage7%
rarely-used kanji formgikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Rarely used kanji form.

Etymology

An old word for being sober or in one’s ordinary state, conventionally written 素面 or 白面. Its deeper formation is uncertain, and the spellings do not securely establish the word’s origin.