Sake (Japanese: 酒; pronounced Listen ) (also saké and saki in English) is a Japanese word meaning "Japanese rice wine" (also called Nihonshu 日本酒) or "alcoholic beverage". In English, this word has come to refer exclusively to the former. This article uses the word "sake" as it is used in English.
Sake is widely referred to in English as "rice wine", but this characterisation is not accurate. The production of alcoholic beverages by multiple fermentation is more characteristic of beer than wine. Also, there are other beverages known as "rice wine" that are significantly different from nihonshu.