drinking to drown one's sorrows; desperate drinking
Drinking alcohol out of despair, frustration, or to forget one's troubles. Often implies reckless or excessive drinking.
After the heartbreak, I drowned my sorrows in drink last night.
Drinking in desperation isn't good for your health.
Means to get dead drunk, often habitually, without the specific nuance of drinking out of despair.
The noun meaning despair or desperation; やけ酒 is a compound with 酒 (alcohol).
Common mixed kanji-kana spelling. The first part やけ is usually written in kana.
Katakana variant of the first part, sometimes used for emphasis or in casual writing.
Ateji spelling using kanji for meaning; rarely used.
Rarely used kanji form; the kanji 焼け can be misleading.
Rarely used kanji form; easily confused with 焼酎 (shōchū).
Compound of 自棄 (yake, 'despair') and 酒 (sake, 'alcohol'). The kanji 自棄 is ateji; the word is more commonly written with kana for the first part.