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酒 (さけ, sake) Japanese meaning: alcohol | Kotomora
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あたま
が
痛いた
い
。
I drank too much alcohol and have a headache.
This shop has a wide selection of alcoholic drinks.
Usage patterns 酒さけ を 飲の む to drink alcohol
I went drinking with a friend.
酒さけ に 酔よ う to get drunk on alcohol
He got drunk and started singing loudly.
酒さけ を 注つ ぐ to pour a drink of alcohol
She poured me a glass of sake.
酒さけ を 断た つ to quit drinking alcohol
I decided to quit drinking for my health.
酒さけ を 酌く む to share a drink together
I shared a drink with an old friend for the first time in a while.
Expressions· 17 酒さけ の 席せき drinking occasion; situation with alcohol; over a drink 酒さけ の 気け looking tipsy; seeming drunk 酒さけ の 肴さかな snack or dish served with alcohol; drinking accompaniment 酒さけ に 弱よわ い weak drinker; can't hold one's liquor; easily gets drunk Show 3 more 酒さけ のお 供とも snack with drinks; drinking accompaniment 酒さけ を 勧すす める press alcohol on someone; urge someone to drink; offer alcohol See all 17 in Explore →
Related words 酒 is the broad term for any alcoholic drink, while 日本酒 refers specifically to Japanese rice wine.
酒 is the everyday word for alcoholic drinks, while アルコール is a loanword used in scientific, medical, or formal contexts.
酒 is the plain, everyday word for alcohol (often meaning sake specifically), while 正宗 is a more colorful, brand-derived colloquialism used to praise good sake.
Don't confuse with 酒 (alcohol) and 鮭 (salmon) are pronounced identically as さけ but are completely unrelated in meaning, distinguished only by context and kanji.
酒 refers to alcoholic drinks in general (including drinking sake), whereas みりん is a sweet seasoning made specifically for cooking, not for drinking.
Counted with Used when counting servings or cups of alcohol; 酒 itself is a mass noun, so there isn’t a single fixed everyday counter for the substance.
Counts cupfuls and glassfuls of drink.
Used for sake by volume in traditional contexts (one gō bottle/cup measure).
For drops of liquid (一滴).
Etymology The origin is uncertain, but it may be related to 栄え (sakae, 'prosperity') or 避ける (sakeru, 'to avoid'), as alcohol was thought to ward off evil spirits. The kanji 酒 is a pictograph of a sake jar.
酒さけ 粕かす
sake lees; sake lees paste
Show 24 more drinking habits; drunken behavior
heavy drinking; drinking too much
sweet white sake · doburoku (unrefined sake)
sake brewing
cold sake
drinking to drown one's sorrows; desperate drinking
nightcap; drink before bed
liquor-soaked; steeped in alcohol · continuous drinking; daily drinking; binge drinking
pure sake; undiluted sake
unpasteurized sake
barhopping; pub crawl
warmed sake
unrefined sake; cloudy sake
celebratory drink; holiday cheer
alcohol; sake
sake served in a masu; sake sold in a masu
egg sake; hot sake with beaten egg and sugar
nightcap; drink at night
large amount of alcohol; heavy drinking · heavy drinker
cheap sake; cheap alcohol
small drink; small amount of alcohol
high-grade sake; good sake
morning drink (of sake); morning sake
cask sake; barreled sake