snack with drinks; appetizer for alcohol
Food eaten while drinking, often salty or savory. Common in phrases like 酒の肴 (sake no sakana).
This cheese is perfect as a snack with wine.
entertainment with drinks; party piece
Only when written 肴
A performance, story, or conversation that enlivens a drinking party. Often used in the phrase 話の肴 (hanashi no sakana). Restricted to the 肴 kanji form.
His story about his blunder made a great conversation piece over drinks.
I drank wine with cheese as a snack.
We ordered several snacks to go with our drinks at the izakaya.
We had a great time at the party with magic tricks as entertainment.
I prepared some simple snacks before my friend came over.
We drank while chatting about old memories.
おつまみ is the polite, common shop/menu word for drinking snacks, whereas 肴 sounds more old-fashioned or literary and covers non-food 'entertainment' as well.
酒肴 is a formal, written compound meaning drinks and snacks together, while 肴 alone just names the food/topic that goes with sake.
魚 (さかな) means 'fish' and is pronounced identically to 肴 (さかな, a drinking snack or conversation topic), so context alone tells them apart.
Used when referring to individual food items or dishes; there isn’t a single fixed everyday counter for this noun.
Standard kanji spelling for both the food and entertainment senses.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the intended sense is clear from context.
Rare kanji spelling emphasizing the food aspect; not commonly used.
Originally referred to food served with sake. The kanji 肴 combines 魚 (fish) and 有 (exist), reflecting its historical association with fish dishes. The extended meaning of 'entertainment' developed from the idea of something that enhances the drinking experience.