酒 (jiǔ): alcohol
酒 (jiǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “alcohol.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (structural) and 酉 (structural). It ranks #797 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 酒 a jar 酉 of wine 氵; 酉 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- alcohol
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA jar 酉 of wine 氵; 酉 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰氵酉 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 酒
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 酒吧noun | jiǔ bā | bar (place to buy drinks) | 5 |
| 啤酒noun | pí jiǔ | beer (loanword) | 3 |
| 酒店noun | jiǔ diàn | wine shop | 2 |
| 酒精noun | jiǔ jīng | (coll.) ethanol | 6 |
| 葡萄酒noun | pú tao jiǔ | (grape) wine | 4 |
| 酒水noun | jiǔ shuǐ | alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (e.g. on a menu) | 6 |
| 白酒noun | bái jiǔ | baijiu, a spirit usually distilled from sorghum | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 喝酒verb | hē jiǔ | to drink (alcohol) |
| 酗酒verb | xù jiǔ | heavy drinking |
| 鸡尾酒noun | jī wěi jiǔ | (calque) cocktail |
| 酒鬼noun | jiǔ guǐ | drunkard |
| 酒后 | jiǔ hòu | after drinking |
| 戒酒verb | jiè jiǔ | to give up drinking |
| 酒馆noun | jiǔ guǎn | tavern |
| 酿酒verb | niàng jiǔ | to make a fermented drink (i.e. to brew beer, make wine etc) |
| 酒会noun | jiǔ huì | drinking party |
| 饮酒verb | yǐn jiǔ | to drink wine |
| 美酒noun | měi jiǔ | good wine |
| 烈酒noun | liè jiǔ | strong alcoholic drink |
| 酒杯noun | jiǔ bēi | wine cup |
| 香槟酒 | xiāng bīn jiǔ | (loanword) champagne |
| 祝酒词 | zhù jiǔ cí | short speech given in proposing a toast |
酒 appears in 104 compound words: 53 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 酒 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
to never touch a drop of alcohol; to abstain from drinking; to be strictly teetotal
lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests
lit. sing to accompany wine (idiom); fig. life is short, make merry while you can
wine sack, food bag (idiom); useless person, only fit for guzzling and boozing
lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 酒.
Example Sentences
根据交通法规，酒后驾车是严重的违法行为，会被吊销驾照。
Gēnjù jiāotōng fǎguī, jiǔhòu jiàchē shì yánzhòng de wéifǎ xíngwéi, huì bèi diàoxiāo jiàzhào.
According to traffic laws, driving under the influence is a serious illegal act and will result in license revocation.
沈桂贤:饮酒养猪不是问题!砂拉越多元包容才是真实力
沈 guì xián yǐn jiǔ yǎng zhū bù shì wèn tí ! shā lā yuè duō yuán bāo róng cái shì zhēn shí lì
Shen Guixian: Drinking and raising pigs is no problem! Sarawak's true strength lies in its diversity and inclusivity.
高雄移工酒駕撞車遭上銬!後座友人「無影腳」推車恐挨...
gāo xióng yí gōng jiǔ 駕 zhuàng 車 zāo shàng 銬 ! 後 zuò yǒu rén 無 yǐng 腳 tuī 車 kǒng āi . . .
Kaohsiung Migrant Worker Arrested for DUI Crash! Backseat Friend's "Ghost Kick" to Push Car Could Land Him in...
新年酒店漲價 遊客百元入住大理醫院住宿中心:設...
xīn nián jiǔ diàn 漲 價 遊 kè bǎi yuán rù zhù dà lǐ 醫 yuàn zhù sù zhōng xīn 設 . . .
New Year's hotel prices rise tourists 100 yuan to stay in Dali Hospital Accommodation Center: set...
仙氣調酒喝下肚小心胃穿孔 警:最慘喪命
xiān 氣 調 jiǔ hē xià dù xiǎo xīn wèi chuān kǒng jǐng zuì 慘 喪 mìng
Drinking of the immortal spirit drink to be careful of perforation of the stomach, police: the most tragic death.
世界盃商機在即 西南管理區敦促酒店業立即行動
shì jiè 盃 shāng 機 zài jí xī nán guǎn lǐ 區 dūn cù jiǔ diàn 業 lì jí háng 動
World Cup Business Opportunities Ahead Southwest Management District Urges Immediate Action by Hotel Industry
城里最好的是哪间酒店？
Chéng lǐ zuì hǎo de shì nǎ jiān jiǔdiàn?
Which is the best hotel in the town?
酒店离机场远不远？
Jiǔdiàn lí jīchǎng yuǎn bù yuǎn?
Is the hotel close to the airport?
不喝酒的男人还是男人吗？
Bù hējiǔ de nánrén háishi nánrén ma?
Are men who don't drink still men?
迈克已经戒酒了吗？
Màikè yǐjīng jièjiǔ le ma?
Is Mike off the bottle?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 酒 (jiǔ)?
Is 酒 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 酒 with real-time feedback
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