汾酒ふぇんちゅう

also: フェンチュー · ふんしゅ

Meanings

fenjiu; Chinese sorghum liquor

A type of distilled Chinese alcohol made from sorghum (kaoliang). The term is used in Japanese to refer specifically to this Chinese spirit.

from Chinese fénjiǔ

中ちゅう国ごくのレストランで汾酒ふぇんちゅうを注ちゅう文もんした。
I ordered fenjiu at a Chinese restaurant.
汾酒ふぇんちゅうは高粱こうりゃんから作つくられる蒸じょう留りゅう酒しゅだ。
Fenjiu is a distilled liquor made from sorghum.

Kanji

汾name of a Chinese river
酒sake, alcohol

Related words

白酒ぱいちゅう
白酒 is a broader term for Chinese white spirits, while 汾酒 refers specifically to the fenjiu variety.
焼しょう酎ちゅう
焼酎 is a Japanese distilled spirit, whereas 汾酒 is a Chinese liquor with a different production method and flavor profile.

Written forms

汾酒Usage100%
- フェンチュウ
  Standard kanji spelling for this Chinese liquor.
- ふんしゅ
- フェンチュー
フェンチュー
Variant katakana spelling; less common than フェンチュウ.
ふんしゅ
Rare Japanese-style reading; not widely used.

Etymology

Borrowed from Chinese 汾酒 (fénjiǔ), referring to a liquor from the Fen River region in Shanxi province. The Japanese readings フェンチュウ/フェンチュー are based on the Chinese pronunciation, while ふんしゅ is a rare Japanese approximation.