スナック
すなっく
noun
snack; small Japanese-style bar
1.
snack; light bite to eat
A light, casual food eaten between meals — chips, crackers, sweets, etc.
子供にスナックをあげた。
I gave the child a snack.
映画を見ながらスナックを食べる。
I eat snacks while watching a movie.
袋を開けた瞬間、スナックの香りが部屋中に広がった。
The moment I opened the bag, the smell of the snacks spread through the whole room.
2.
Japanese-style bar with a hostess
A small, late-night drinking establishment, usually run by a female owner known as ママ. Customers chat with the owner, sing karaoke, and pay a flat seat charge plus drinks.
駅前のスナックに寄った。
I stopped by the snack bar near the station.
父は昔よくこのスナックに通っていたらしい。
My father apparently used to frequent this snack bar long ago.
初めてスナックに入ったら、ママさんがいろいろ話しかけてくれた。
When I went into a snack bar for the first time, the owner-lady chatted with me about all kinds of things.
Loanword from English 'snack', but sense (2) is a distinct Japanese usage with no direct English equivalent.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- スナック菓子: snack food (chips, etc.)
- スナックバー: snack bar (sometimes used for sense 2)
- スナックのママ: the lady who runs a snack bar
CULTURAL CONTEXT (sense 2):
A スナック is small (often counter-seating only) and run by a single female proprietor. Regulars chat with her, sing karaoke, and pay a セット{料金} (flat fee) plus drinks. They're a fixture of Japanese nightlife, especially outside large cities, and quite different from a bar (バー) or pub (パブ), which lack the host/hostess relationship.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 間食: between-meal eating — focuses on the act, not the food
- お菓子: sweets / snacks — overlaps with sense 1 but usually means sweet snacks