also: つゆ
noun, noun, used as a suffix
Refers to the liquid extracted from fruits, vegetables, or plants. Also used figuratively for the essence or benefit of something.
レモンの汁を絞って料理に使う。
Squeeze lemon juice and use it in cooking.
この仕事は汁が吸える。
You can get something out of this job (lit. suck the juice).
noun, noun, used as a suffix
Commonly refers to the liquid part of a soup or stew, such as miso soup broth or ramen broth.
味噌汁の汁だけ飲みたい。
I just want to drink the miso soup broth.
ラーメンの汁が冷めてしまった。
The ramen broth has gone cold.
noun
dipping sauce; broth for noodles
Only with reading つゆ
Specific to the reading つゆ. Used for the sauce served with tempura, soba, or udon.
そばのつゆが少し濃い。
The soba dipping sauce is a little strong.
天ぷらをつゆにつけて食べる。
Dip the tempura in the sauce and eat it.
Kana spelling is common for the dipping-sauce sense, especially in recipes and menus.
Rare alternative kanji for しる; 汁 is overwhelmingly more common.
The kanji 汁 is a phono-semantic compound: the water radical 氵 and the phonetic 十 (though the phonetic value is not obvious in modern Japanese). The reading しる is native Japanese, while つゆ is a separate native reading for the same kanji, possibly related to 露 (dew) in origin, but the exact derivation is uncertain.