Meaning of 酒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- wine (esp. rice wine)
- liquor
- spirits
- alcoholic beverage
Measure word: 杯,瓶,罐,桶,缸
How to use 酒
酒 (jiǔ) is the general word for any alcoholic drink, and it often combines with other words to name specific types, such as 啤酒 (píjiǔ) beer and 红酒 (hóngjiǔ) red wine. The usual verb is 喝 (hē), to drink. Example: 我不喝酒。(Wǒ bù hē jiǔ.) I don't drink alcohol.
The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 酉 (yǒu) looks like a jar with a lid. Liquid in a jar means 酒 (jiǔ), alcohol.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 酒 (jiǔ) with 洒 (sǎ, to sprinkle), which has 西 on the right instead of 酉. Remember that 酉 has an extra horizontal stroke inside, like liquid in the jar.
酒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
酒 jiǔ · wine · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 酒.
| 酒店 | jiǔdiàn | wine shop; pub (public house) |
| 啤酒 | píjiǔ | beer (loanword) |
| 红酒 | hóngjiǔ | red wine |
| 酒吧 | jiǔbā | bar (place to buy drinks) |
| 酒鬼 | jiǔguǐ | drunkard |
| 葡萄酒 | pútaojiǔ | (grape) wine |
| 白酒 | báijiǔ | baijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghum; (Tw) white wine (abbr. for 白葡萄酒[bai2 pu2 |
| 酒水 | jiǔshuǐ | alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (e.g. on a menu) |
| 酒精 | jiǔjīng | (coll.) ethanol; ethyl alcohol |
| 酗酒 | xùjiǔ | heavy drinking; to get drunk |
| 敬酒 | jìngjiǔ | to toast; to propose a toast |
| 喜酒 | xǐjiǔ | wedding feast; liquor drunk at a wedding feast |
Questions about 酒
What does 酒 mean?
酒 (jiǔ) means "wine (esp. rice wine); liquor" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 酒?
酒 is made of 1 character: 酒 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 酒 an HSK word?
Yes. 酒 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 酒店 mean a bar or a hotel?
Its dictionary meaning is wine shop or pub, but in modern mainland usage 酒店 (jiǔdiàn) very often means a hotel, especially a large or upscale one. For a place to go drinking, people usually say 酒吧 (jiǔbā).
Does 酒 only mean wine?
No. Although it is often translated as wine, 酒 covers all alcoholic drinks, including beer, rice wine and strong spirits. To mean wine made from grapes specifically, say 葡萄酒 (pútaojiǔ) or 红酒 (hóngjiǔ).