Soju
/ˈsoʊ.dʒuː/noun
A clear Korean distilled alcoholic drink traditionally made from grains or sweet potatoes.
Did you know?The name comes through Korean from Chinese 燒酒, meaning “burned liquor,” referring to alcohol concentrated by heating and distillation—not to liquor that was literally set on fire.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
酒 (*tsuʔ)
“Alcoholic drink or fermented wine”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
酒 (tsəu)
“Wine or intoxicating liquor”
Medieval China
Chinese
燒酒 (shāojiǔ)
““Burned liquor”; a distilled spirit produced through heating”
13th–14th Century
Middle Korean
소쥬 (sojyu)
“A distilled alcoholic drink, borrowed from Chinese terminology”
15th–16th Century
Korean
소주 (soju)
“Distilled liquor, increasingly produced and consumed in Korea”
Modern English
English
soju
“A Korean distilled spirit, commonly associated with a mild, clear alcoholic drink”