1.
sauce, Worcester sauce
A condiment sauce, especially the brown Worcester-style sauce (ウスターソース) commonly used in Japanese cuisine. Also used as a general term for Western-style sauces.
2.
source, origin
The origin or source of information, data, or content. Used in journalism, IT, and everyday conversation.
Usage
The two meanings of ソース come from different English words: "sauce" (condiment) and "source" (origin). Context usually makes the intended meaning clear.
USAGE (Sense 1):
When Japanese people say ソース without further specification, they typically mean 中濃ソース or ウスターソース — brown, slightly sweet Worcester-type sauces. This is distinct from タレ (Japanese-style dipping sauce) and 醤油 (soy sauce).
USAGE (Sense 2):
Widely used in journalism (ニュースソース), IT (ソースコード), and casual conversation to mean the origin of information.
Common collocations
- ウスターソース: Worcester sauce
- 中濃ソース: medium-thick sauce
- ソースコード: source code
- 情報ソース: information source