粥
Meanings
1
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.
When you have a cold, eating rice porridge is gentle on the stomach.
I made rice porridge for breakfast.
2
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.
In Zen temples, breakfast (shuku) is an important meal for the monks in training.
Usage patterns
- 粥を炊くto cook rice porridge
Since I had a fever, I cooked some easy-to-digest rice porridge.
- 粥をすするto slurp/sip rice porridge
The sick person slowly slurped down the rice porridge.