白酒

白酒

1. baijiu (distilled liquor)
2. white wine

To distinguish baijiu from white wine, white wine can be called 白葡萄酒 (báipútáojiǔ).

• (baijiu): 燒酒／烧酒 (shāojiǔ)
• (white wine): 白葡萄酒 (báipútáojiǔ)

• 酒 (jiǔ)

• 高粱 (gāoliáng)

• 黃酒／黄酒 (huángjiǔ)
• 葡萄酒 (pútáojiǔ)
• 啤酒 (píjiǔ)

Compound of 白 (shiro, “white”) +‎ 酒 (sake, “liquor”). The sake reading for 酒 changes to zake as an instance of rendaku (連濁). .

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ɕiɾo̞za̠ke̞]

白酒 (hiragana しろざけ, rōmaji shirozake)

1. a white, unfiltered, sweet, and sometimes thick porridge-like fermented liquor made from rice; traditionally served at 雛祭り (Hina matsuri) and other festivals
2. alternate name for 濁酒 (doburoku), 濁り酒 (nigorizake): white unfiltered and sweet sake

• (thick sake served at festivals): 山川酒 (やまがわざけ) (yamagawazake)
• (unfiltered sake): 濁酒 (じょくしゅく) (jokushuku), 濁酒 (だくしゅ) (dakushu), 濁酒 (どぶろく) (doburoku)
• (unfiltered sake): 濁 (にご)り酒 (ざけ) (nigorizake)

Compound of 白 (shiro, “white”) +‎ 酒 (ki, “liquor”). The ki reading for 酒 is archaic.

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ɕiɾo̞kʲi]

白酒 (hiragana しろき, rōmaji shiroki)

1. white fermented liquor made from rice, used as an offering at Shinto rituals

   Fermented from specially selected rice, with half used as shiroki and half mixed with incense ash and used as kuroki (黒酒). Used in particular at the 大嘗祭 (daijōsai) and 新嘗祭 (nīnamesai) rituals held in late November, wherein the emperor would beseech the gods for a good harvest in the year to come.

• 黒酒 (くろき) (kuroki): black liquor
• 大嘗祭 (だいじょうさい) (daijōsai), 新嘗祭 (にいなめさい) (nīnamesai): Shinto rituals wherein the emperor prays for a good harvest in the year to come

Compound of 白 (shiro, “white”) +‎ 酒 (sasa, “liquor”). The sasa reading for 酒 is a 女 (にょう)房 (ぼう)詞 (ことば) (nyōbō kotoba), a term only used by women.

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ɕiɾo̞sa̠sa̠]

白酒 (hiragana しろささ, rōmaji shirosasa)

1. a 女 (にょう)房 (ぼう)詞 (ことば) (nyōbō kotoba) or "women's word" for shirozake

From Middle Chinese 白酒 (MC bˠæk̚ t͡sɨu^X).

• On’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ha̠kɯ̟ᵝɕɨᵝ]

白酒 (hiragana はくしゅ, rōmaji hakushu)

1. generic term for nigorizake, doburoku, shirozake

This reading using the on'yomi is considered slightly more formal, rather like how words in English that have Latin or Greek roots are considered slightly more formal than synonyms that have Anglo-Saxon roots.

• 濁 (にご)り酒 (ざけ) (nigorizake)
• 濁酒 (どぶろく) (doburoku)

From modern Mandarin 白酒 (báijiǔ).

• IPA^(key): [pa̠it͡ɕɨᵝː]

白酒 (hiragana ぱいちゅう, katakana パイチュー, rōmaji paichū)

1. Chinese distilled liquor

This reading is more often spelled in katakana as パイチュー to differentiate from the default hakushu on'yomi for these characters.