ソース

そーす
noun
sauce; source
food
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.
ソースをかける。
To pour sauce on.
I put plenty of sauce and mayonnaise on okonomiyaki.
トンカツにはソースをかける派(は)ですか、塩(しお)ですか。
Do you prefer sauce or salt on your tonkatsu?
2. source, origin
The origin or source of information, data, or content. Used in journalism, IT, and everyday conversation.
To check the source.
そのニュースのソースはどこですか。
What's the source of that news?
The source code is publicly available so anyone can review the contents.

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(ちゅうのう)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(しょうゆ) (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(ちゅうのう)ソース: medium-thick sauce
  • ソースコード: source code
  • 情報(じょうほう)ソース: information source