1.
tea drinker; teetotaler; person who doesn't drink alcohol
A person who prefers tea or other non-alcoholic beverages over alcohol. An older, somewhat playful expression contrasting with 左党 (a drinker). Derives from the traditional association of the right hand with rice (and by extension, non-alcoholic drinks).
父は右党でお酒は一切飲まない。
My father is a teetotaler and doesn't drink alcohol at all.
この飲み会は右党にも楽しめるメニューがある。
This drinking party has a menu that non-drinkers can enjoy too.
左党の友人と右党の私では飲み会の楽しみ方が違う。
My friend who drinks and I who don't enjoy drinking parties in different ways.
The origin of this term relates to traditional Japanese customs. In the drinking culture, the 左 (left) side was associated with sake (because craftsmen held their chisel in the left hand and their hammer — 槌, homophonous with a sake vessel — in the right), so 左党 came to mean a drinker. 右党 is its counterpart for non-drinkers.
This is an older expression that is still understood but less commonly used in modern casual conversation, where 下戸 (non-drinker) is more typical.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 右党の人: a non-drinker
- 右党も左党も: both drinkers and non-drinkers
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 左党: drinker, sake lover — the opposite term for someone who enjoys alcohol
- 下戸: non-drinker — the more common word for someone who can't or doesn't drink
- 上戸: heavy drinker — someone who can drink a lot