Huangjiu
/ˈhwɑːŋ.dʒjoʊ/noun
A Chinese fermented alcoholic beverage, usually made from rice, whose color ranges from pale gold to deep brown.
Did you know?In traditional Chinese culture, huangjiu was used not only as a beverage but also in cooking, ceremonies, seasonal observances, and medicinal preparations.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
黃
“Yellow; the color term underlying modern huáng”
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
酒
“Fermented alcoholic drink or wine; the ancestor of modern jiǔ”
Classical Chinese
Literary Chinese
黃酒
“Literally “yellow wine,” a descriptive term for yellowish alcoholic beverages”
Middle Chinese, c. 600–1000 CE
Middle Chinese
hwang + tsjuw
“Historical pronunciations corresponding to the characters 黃 and 酒”
Modern Mandarin
Mandarin
huángjiǔ
“A traditional Chinese brewed wine, commonly made from rice and associated especially with Shaoxing-style wines”
Modern English
English
huangjiu
“An English loanword used for Chinese yellow rice wine”
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