alcohol

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The on reading is しゅ, and the kun readings are さけ or さか. It has 10 strokes. It appears in words for alcohol itself and abstaining from or prohibiting it.
• Basic usage: 酒 is read さけ, and 禁酒 is read きんしゅ.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 酒 / 禁酒
  • 酒 means alcohol or sake and is read さけ. It refers broadly to alcohol and can mean sake in context.
  • 物語の宿には各地の酒が並んでいる。 means “The inn in the story displays alcoholic drinks from many regions.”
  • 禁酒 means abstinence from alcohol or alcohol prohibition and is read きんしゅ. It refers to abstaining from alcohol or prohibiting it by rule.
  • 寮の規則には建物内での禁酒が明記されている。 means “The dormitory rules explicitly prohibit alcohol inside the building.”