soju

From Korean 소주(燒酒) (soju).

Compare Mandarin 燒酒／烧酒 (shāojiǔ), Japanese 焼酎 (shōchū, “shōchū”). Doublet of shōchū.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsəʊd͡ʒuː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊd͡ʒuː/

soju (usually uncountable, plural sojus)

1. A Korean distilled alcoholic beverage, similar to shochu.
   • 2015, Deborah Smith, translating Han Kang, The Vegetarian, Granta 2018, p. 7:

     I'd also woken up with a raging thirst from the bottle and a half of soju I'd had with dinner, which also meant I was taking longer to come to my senses than usual.

• shōchū