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Yomi
のんべえ
Rōmaji
nonbee
Type
slang
Meaning
a person who loves drinking alcohol
Synonym
飲助
Antonym
下戸
Additional Info
飲兵衛 (のんべえ) and also 飲助 (のみすけ) mean “people who love drinking”. Both words presumably originate from real person’s names, as 兵衛（べえ）and 助 (すけ) used to be commonly used in people’s names, such as 権兵衛 (ごんべえ) and 愛之助 (あいのすけ). While 兵衛 now sounds old-fashioned and is not very popular, 助 is still used in some names, such as 慎之助 (しんのすけ).
Example
彼は飲兵衛/飲助だから、日本酒(にほんしゅ)を持って行ったら喜ぶよ。
Because he loves drinking, he will be happy if you bring him Japanese sake.