Japanese word

お酒

Pronunciation

Romajiosake

Meaning

  • nounalcohol

Example

私はお酒を飲みません。watashi wa o sake o no mi ma se n

I do not drink alcohol.

Illustration for お酒 (alcohol)

More examples

健康のために、お酒を控えています。ken kō no ta me ni o sake o hika e te i ma su

For my health, I am cutting back on alcohol.

Core concept

Centers on alcoholic drinks as beverages consumed by people, not on alcohol used for science or industry.

Common phrases

  • お酒を飲むo sake o no mu

    drink alcohol

  • お酒が弱いo sake ga yowa i

    have a low tolerance for alcohol

  • お酒を控えるo sake o hika e ru

    cut back on alcohol

Similar words

酒sake: A plain word for alcoholic drinks, including individual drinks and the category as a whole.
アルコール飲料arukōruinryō: A descriptive term for a beverage containing alcohol.

Definition in Japanese

人が飲むアルコールを含む飲み物。hito ga no mu a ru kō ru o fuku mu no mi mono

Word origin

The Japanese word お酒 (osake) adds the polite prefix お (o) to 酒 (sake, "alcoholic drink"). 酒 is an old native word, and its ultimate origin is unclear.

Usage tips

  • The loanword sake is narrower in English than お酒 (osake), because English commonly uses it for a Japanese rice-based alcoholic drink.

Other meanings

  • sakenoun

Word lists with this word