Sake in Different Languages
Discover 'Sake' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Sake, a cherished Japanese beverage, is more than just a drink. It's a cultural symbol, a testament to Japan's rich history and tradition. Sake, also known as 'nihonshu' in Japan, is made from fermented rice and is often enjoyed ceremonially, symbolizing the harmony and happiness of gatherings. Its significance extends beyond its homeland, as it's recognized and appreciated worldwide.
Understanding the translation of 'sake' in different languages can open up a world of cultural exchange and understanding. For instance, in Spanish, 'sake' translates to 'sake', while in French, it's 'saké'. In German, it's 'Reiswein', and in Chinese, it's '酒'. These translations not only help in understanding the word but also in appreciating the cultural significance of sake in different parts of the world.
Stay tuned to explore more translations of 'sake' in various languages, and delve deeper into the global appreciation of this historic beverage.
Sake
Sake in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | ter wille | ||
| The Afrikaans word “ter wille” is ultimately derived from the Middle Dutch phrase "ter wile" which means "in the meantime". | |||
| Amharic | ዳግም | ||
| The word "ዳግም" also means "again" or "repetition" in Amharic. | |||
| Hausa | sake | ||
| In Japanese, sake means "alcoholic beverage" whereas in Hausa, it means "because" or "for the sake of". | |||
| Igbo | n'ihi | ||
| Igbo word "n'ihi" also means "about" or "concerning," and can refer to a person or thing depending on context. | |||
| Malagasy | noho | ||
| Malagasy "noho" also means "to sit" or "to stay". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | chifukwa | ||
| Etymology not specified but may be related to the verb "kufukula" "to take out" which is likely related to "kuvula" "to pour." | |||
| Shona | nekuda | ||
| "Nekuda" (sake) is derived from a word for "liquor, beer", and is related to words for "drink, intoxicate", but can also refer to types of non-alcoholic traditional beer made with millet strains | |||
| Somali | dartii | ||
| Somali 'dartii' is an archaic form of the term 'saki'. 'Saki' is the name for millet beer in Somali, not sake, the Japanese rice wine. | |||
| Sesotho | ka lebaka | ||
| In Sesotho, 'ka lebaka' can also refer to the reason or cause of something. | |||
| Swahili | kwa sababu | ||
| The word "kwa sababu" can also mean "reason" or "purpose". | |||
| Xhosa | ngenxa | ||
| In Xhosa, the word 'ngenxa' also means 'because of' or 'on behalf of'. | |||
| Yoruba | nitori | ||
| In Yoruba, "nitori" also means "because" or "for the sake of." | |||
| Zulu | ngenxa | ||
| In the Nguni languages, 'ingenxa' also refers to a type of tree and its bark, which is used in brewing traditional beer. | |||
| Bambara | kɔsɔn | ||
| Ewe | ta | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kubera | ||
| Lingala | bolamu | ||
| Luganda | ekigendererwa | ||
| Sepedi | ka baka la | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nti | ||
Sake in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | مصلحة | ||
| The word "مصلحة" derives from the Arabic root "ص ل ح" (ṣ-l-ḥ), which carries the meaning of "to be good or righteous" or "to promote well-being or good deeds." | |||
| Hebrew | סאקה | ||
| The word "סאקה" can also refer to a type of Japanese rice wine. | |||
| Pashto | لپاره | ||
| The word "لپاره" also means "in front of" or "in the presence of" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | مصلحة | ||
| The word "مصلحة" derives from the Arabic root "ص ل ح" (ṣ-l-ḥ), which carries the meaning of "to be good or righteous" or "to promote well-being or good deeds." | |||
Sake in Western European Languages
| Albanian | hir | ||
| The word “hir” in Albanian, which means “sake,” is thought to be derived from the Latin word “causa,” meaning “cause” or “reason.” | |||
| Basque | sake | ||
| The word "sake" in Basque can also mean "purpose" or "reason". | |||
| Catalan | sake | ||
| In Catalan, "sake" means both sake (the rice wine) and bag (the container). | |||
| Croatian | sake | ||
| The name sake is etymologically related to saditi (planting), the name of a village in the municipality of Drniš. | |||
| Danish | skyld | ||
| In Old Norse, "skyld" also meant "obligation" or "responsibility". | |||
| Dutch | rijstwijn | ||
| "Rijstwijn" (lit. "rice wine") also refers to any alcoholic beverage brewed from rice, such as mirin and amazake. | |||
| English | sake | ||
| "Sake" has multiple meanings in English, including the beverage made from fermented rice and the archaic word for "fault". | |||
| French | saké | ||
| En français, le mot “saké” peut aussi signifier “cher(e)”, “maudit(e)”, ou “sacré(e).” | |||
| Frisian | sake | ||
| The word "sake" in Frisian also means "cause". | |||
| Galician | sake | ||
| German | sake | ||
| In German, the word "sake" can also refer to a type of cherry tree blossom or the Japanese rice wine called sake. | |||
| Icelandic | sakir | ||
| In Icelandic, "sakir" can refer both to the Japanese alcoholic beverage, as well as the Icelandic word for "guilty". | |||
| Irish | mhaithe | ||
| The Irish word "mhaithe" also means "good" or "well" in the sense of "being well" or "doing well". | |||
| Italian | interesse | ||
| "Interesse" derives from Latin "inter" and "esse" so it literally means "being in the middle" | |||
| Luxembourgish | wuel | ||
| The root "Wuel" is the same one as in German "wahl", French "valeurs", Latin "valor", English "value", meaning something that counts, that deserves esteem. | |||
| Maltese | sake | ||
| The word "sake" is derived from the Latin word "saccus," meaning "bag" or "sack." | |||
| Norwegian | skyld | ||
| In Old Norse, "skyld" also meant "duty" or "obligation." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | causa | ||
| In Portuguese, "causa" can also mean "reason", "purpose", or "motive". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | aobhar | ||
| The word 'aobhar' in Scots Gaelic has been suggested to derive from Old Irish 'obar,' which could mean either 'offering' or 'bribe'. | |||
| Spanish | motivo | ||
| The Spanish word "motivo" can also mean "reason" or "motive". | |||
| Swedish | skull | ||
| Swedish "skull" is cognate with English "skull", deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root *skeu-d-, meaning "to cut". | |||
| Welsh | mwyn | ||
| In addition to its main meaning, 'mwyn' can also refer to 'grace', 'favour', or 'compassion' in Welsh. | |||
Sake in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | дзеля гэтага | ||
| The Belarusian word "дзеля гэтага" means "for the sake of" or "on behalf of". It is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *dělь, which means "share" or "part". The word is also used to express the purpose of an action, as in the phrase "дзеля гэтага я зрабіў гэта" ("I did it for this reason"). | |||
| Bosnian | sake | ||
| Bosnian word "sake" could mean "sake", "for the sake of", or "thanks to". | |||
| Bulgarian | саке | ||
| Българската дума „саке“ произлиза от турската дума „сакка“, която означава „водонос“. | |||
| Czech | saké | ||
| In Czech, Saké is also a very common colloquial term for toilet paper. | |||
| Estonian | sake | ||
| The Estonian word "sake" can also refer to "guilt" or "cause". | |||
| Finnish | sakea | ||
| "Sakea" is a loanword from Japanese, where it means "rice wine". | |||
| Hungarian | kedvéért | ||
| The word 'kedvéért' can also be used to express gratitude, as in 'köszönöm kedvéért!', which means 'thank you for your kindness!'. | |||
| Latvian | dēļ | ||
| "Dēļ" is a Latvian word with multiple meanings, including "cause", "reason", and "purpose". | |||
| Lithuanian | labui | ||
| The word "labui" ("sake") in Lithuanian is also used to refer to a drink made from honey and water. | |||
| Macedonian | саке | ||
| Polish | wzgląd | ||
| The word "wzgląd" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vzъględu, which also means "regard" or "consideration". | |||
| Romanian | dragul | ||
| The word "dragul" is also used to refer to a ritual or ceremony in which sake is offered to the gods or ancestors. | |||
| Russian | ради | ||
| The Russian word "ради" can also mean "for the sake of" or "on account of". | |||
| Serbian | саке | ||
| The Serbian word "саке" ("sake") can also refer to the Japanese rice wine known as sake. | |||
| Slovak | saké | ||
| Slovo saké má v slovenčine okrem významu alkoholického nápoja aj význam pomaly, kľudne. | |||
| Slovenian | zaradi | ||
| The Slovene word "zaradi" comes from Proto-Slavic *radi, which survives in other Slavic languages as "radi" (Bulgarian), "rad" (Czech), "radi" (Serbian) and "dla" (Polish). | |||
| Ukrainian | користь | ||
| The Ukrainian word "користь" (sake) derives from the Proto-Slavic word *korĭstь, meaning "gain" or "benefit." | |||
Sake in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | জন্য | ||
| "জন্য" also means "intention" as in "সৎ উদ্দেশ্যে তিনি এ কাজ করেছেন" (He did this work with good intentions). | |||
| Gujarati | ખાતર | ||
| The Gujarati word "ખાતર" also has the meanings of "for the benefit of," "on account of," and "because of." | |||
| Hindi | खातिर | ||
| The Hindi word 'खातिर' ('sake') comes from the Persian 'khāṭir' ('mind', 'thought'), and also means 'for the sake of'. | |||
| Kannada | ಸಲುವಾಗಿ | ||
| The word 'ಸಲುವಾಗಿ' ('sake') in Kannada can also mean 'reason' or 'purpose'. | |||
| Malayalam | നിമിത്തം | ||
| Marathi | फायद्यासाठी | ||
| The word "फायद्यासाठी" in Marathi has alternate meanings such as "benefit" or "advantage". | |||
| Nepali | खातिर | ||
| The word "खातिर" can also mean "care", "reason", or "purpose". | |||
| Punjabi | ਖਾਤਰ | ||
| The word "ਖਾਤਰ" can also mean "for the purpose of" or "on behalf of". | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | වෙනුවෙන් | ||
| The word "වෙනුවෙන්" also signifies a sense of "for the benefit or profit of" something or someone. | |||
| Tamil | நிமித்தம் | ||
| The word "நிமித்தம்" in Tamil can also mean "cause" or "reason". | |||
| Telugu | కొరకు | ||
| The word "కొరకు" can also be used to mean "for the sake of" or "to the good of". | |||
| Urdu | خاطر | ||
| خاطر ('sake') means 'remembrance', 'mind', 'intention', 'thought' or 'regard' in Urdu. | |||
Sake in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 清酒 | ||
| 清酒的“清”字有澄清、纯净的意思，而“酒”字则代表液体。 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 清酒 | ||
| 「清酒」一詞在中文裡除了指日式米酒外，也有「清淨的酒」之義，常被用來特指「蒸餾酒」或「白酒」等透明無色的酒類。 | |||
| Japanese | 酒 | ||
| The Japanese character 酒 ('sake') originated in China as the pictogram of a wine vessel with liquid pouring into two cups. | |||
| Korean | 때문 | ||
| 때문, meaning 'because of', is also used in the sense of 'thanks to', 'out of', 'for', 'owing to', 'in order to', 'on account of', 'in view of', and 'in the interest of'. | |||
| Mongolian | саке | ||
| The Mongolian word "сакэ" (/sake/) is also used to refer to "the process of preparing fermented milk". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ဘာလို့လဲဆိုတော့ | ||
Sake in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | demi | ||
| In Indonesian, "demi" refers not only to alcoholic beverages like sake, but also to promises or intentions, as in "demi cinta" (for the sake of love). | |||
| Javanese | sake | ||
| The term "sake" also refers to a kind of traditional alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. | |||
| Khmer | ប្រយោជន៍ | ||
| "ប្រយោជន៍" (pronounced as "pra-yo-chon") is a word with multiple meanings in Khmer, including "use", "purpose", and "benefit". | |||
| Lao | ເພື່ອ | ||
| The word "ເພື່ອ" (sake) in Lao can also mean "in order to" or "for the purpose of". | |||
| Malay | demi | ||
| The word "demi" also means "rice wine" in Malay. | |||
| Thai | เหล้าสาเก | ||
| The word "เหล้าสาเก" (sake) also means "liquor" in general, and is not limited to the Japanese alcoholic beverage. | |||
| Vietnamese | lợi ích | ||
| In Middle Vietnamese, "lợi" meant "advantage," while the character "ích" denoted "interest." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kapakanan | ||
Sake in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | xatirinə | ||
| The Azerbaijani word "xatirinə" ultimately derives from the Sanskrit word "kṛtena" (by means of). | |||
| Kazakh | саке | ||
| In Kazakh language “саке” is also a word for any alcoholic beverage | |||
| Kyrgyz | саке | ||
| The word "саке" ("sake") in Kyrgyz means "to drink alcohol" or "a person who likes to drink alcohol." | |||
| Tajik | ба хотири | ||
| The word "ба хотири" in Tajik is synonymous to the word "ради", meaning "for the sake of". | |||
| Turkmen | üçin | ||
| Uzbek | xayr | ||
| In Persian and Urdu, 'xayr' means 'good' and 'well'. | |||
| Uyghur | چۈنكى | ||
Sake in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | pono | ||
| The word "pono" has additional meanings in Hawaiian, including "righteousness" and "correctness". | |||
| Maori | tuhinga o mua | ||
| Samoan | manuia | ||
| The word "manuia" also means "cheers" or "good health" and is used in toasts. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | alang-alang | ||
| Alang-alang is used in Tagalog to refer to Japanese sake, but the word actually refers to the sake plant (Japanese knotweed), whose leaves are used to make the alcoholic beverage. | |||
Sake in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | waliki | ||
| Guarani | mba'érepa | ||
Sake in International Languages
| Esperanto | sake | ||
| The word "sake" in Esperanto also means "for the sake of something". | |||
| Latin | propter | ||
| The Latin word "propter" can also mean "near" or "in front of". | |||
Sake in Others Languages
| Greek | χάρη | ||
| The word "χάρη" has no literal alternate meaning, however, it derives from the PIE roots *ǵʰés- ('to favour, be gracious') *ǵénh₃- ('to beget'), both of which are cognate with the English verb "to yearn." | |||
| Hmong | hom | ||
| "Hom" also means "because of" or "for". | |||
| Kurdish | xatir | ||
| The Kurdish word "xatir" also means "intention," "motive," or "purpose." | |||
| Turkish | hatır | ||
| In Turkish, the word "hatır" (sake) can also mean "memory" or "consideration". | |||
| Xhosa | ngenxa | ||
| In Xhosa, the word 'ngenxa' also means 'because of' or 'on behalf of'. | |||
| Yiddish | צוליב | ||
| "צוליב" ("tselib") is Yiddish for "sake," and is cognate with the German word "zu Liebe." | |||
| Zulu | ngenxa | ||
| In the Nguni languages, 'ingenxa' also refers to a type of tree and its bark, which is used in brewing traditional beer. | |||
| Assamese | হেতু | ||
| Aymara | waliki | ||
| Bhojpuri | खातिर | ||
| Dhivehi | ސޭކް | ||
| Dogri | खातर | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kapakanan | ||
| Guarani | mba'érepa | ||
| Ilocano | gapo | ||
| Krio | sek | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | لەپێناو | ||
| Maithili | खातिर | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯀꯔꯤꯒꯨꯝꯕ ꯑꯃꯒꯤꯗꯃꯛꯇ | ||
| Mizo | aiah | ||
| Oromo | wayiif jecha | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | କାରଣ ପାଇଁ | ||
| Quechua | sake | ||
| Sanskrit | सर्पः | ||
| Tatar | хакына | ||
| Tigrinya | ምኽንያት | ||
| Tsonga | vunene | ||