酒さけの肴さかな

Meanings

snack or dish served with alcohol; drinking accompaniment

Refers to food eaten while drinking, ranging from simple snacks to elaborate dishes. The phrase is a set expression; 肴 is read さかな and means 'side dish for drinks'.

酒さけの肴さかなに枝えだ豆まめを頼たのんだ。
I ordered edamame as a snack with my drink.
この店みせは酒さけの肴さかなが豊ほう富ふで、日本にほん酒しゅが進すすむ。
This place has a great variety of drinking snacks, which makes the sake go down well.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Kanji

酒sake, alcohol
肴accompaniment for drinks

Related words

おつまみ
A more casual, everyday term for snacks eaten with alcohol. 酒の肴 is slightly more traditional or literary.
肴さかな
The standalone noun 肴 can also mean 'appetizer for drinks', but 酒の肴 is a fixed phrase emphasizing the drinking context.

Built from

酒さけ+肴さかな

Written forms

酒さけの肴さかな
Standard kanji spelling. 肴 (さかな) here means 'side dish' or 'snack to accompany alcohol', not 'fish'.
酒さけのさかな
Kana spelling for 肴, used when the kanji is considered difficult or for clarity.

Etymology

Compound of 酒 (sake, 'alcohol') + の (possessive particle) + 肴 (sakana, 'side dish for drinks'). The reading さかな for 肴 is an old specialized meaning distinct from the more common 魚 (sakana, 'fish').