1.
left-handed; being left-handed
A person who primarily uses their left hand, or the condition of being left-handed.
彼は左利きだ。
He is left-handed.
左利き用のはさみを買った。
I bought left-handed scissors.
うちの子は左利きなので、右利き用の机だと書きにくいらしい。
Our child is left-handed, so apparently it's hard to write at a right-handed desk.
2.
a drinker; someone fond of alcohol
A colloquial, somewhat old-fashioned usage referring to someone who likes to drink. Derives from the idea that the left hand holds the sake cup while the right hand holds chopsticks.
あの人はなかなかの左利きだ。
That person is quite the drinker.
父は若い頃から左利きで、毎晩晩酌を欠かさない。
My father has been a drinker since he was young and never misses his evening drink.
左利きだろう？ 一杯どう？
You like to drink, right? How about a glass?
Literally 'left-effectiveness' — the dominant use of the left hand. In Japan, left-handedness was traditionally considered unusual, and many children were encouraged to switch to their right hand, though this practice has become less common.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 左利き用: for left-handed people
- 左利きの人: a left-handed person
- 生まれつき左利き: naturally left-handed
- 右利きに直す: to correct to right-handedness
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 右利き: right-handed — the opposite; the dominant norm
- 両利き: ambidextrous — able to use both hands equally
SENSE 2 NOTE:
The 'drinker' sense is a traditional euphemism. The origin is debated: one theory says that carpenters held a plane (鉋) in the left hand (not the right, which held chopsticks), and 鉋 sounds like 燗 (warmed sake). This usage is declining but still encountered in older speech and literature.