Japanese symbol for “alcohol”
酒
さけ
Romaji: sake
alcohol; sake
In Japanese, alcohol is 酒, read さけ (sake).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n alcohol; sake
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “alcohol”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| アルコール | アルコール arukooru | alcohol |
| 酒精 | しゅせい shusei | (ethyl) alcohol; spirits of wine |
| 御酒 | ごしゅ goshu | alcohol; sake |
| お酒 | おさけ osake | alcohol; sake |
| 天の美禄 | てんのびろく tennobiroku | alcohol |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 居酒屋 | いざかや izakaya | izakaya; tavern, bar, etc. that also serves various dishes and snacks |
| 酒屋 | さかや sakaya | liquor store; wine shop; bottle shop |
| 飲酒 | いんしゅ inshu | drinking alcohol |
| 禁酒 | きんしゅ kinshu | abstinence from alcohol; temperance |
| 酒場 | さかば sakaba | bar; pub; tavern |
| 梅酒 | うめしゅ umeshu | ume liqueur; Japanese plum brandy; unripe ume infused in liquor (esp. shōchū) with added sugar |
See also: Chinese symbol for “alcohol”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.