# משקה vs. שתייה



## sawyeric1

They both mean "a drink [beverage]". Completely interchangeable? No difference? From LingQ:

צריך לקחת אוכל ושתייה - ואפשר לצאת לדרך
We need to bring food and drinks - and we can head out

Except that maybe משקה in the singular can't be used to mean "drinks" like שתייה?

Thanks


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## slus

משקה is older use:
Lookup "הבו לנו משקה" for example.
שתייה is more modern.


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## oopqoo

You're right, שתייה can be used as both the noun for a single drink or a plural noun for many drinks. The word משקה doesn't do that, you have to say its plural, משקאות, instead.
Other than that in terms of register I'd say:
משקה = beverage
שתייה = drink


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## sawyeric1

So משקה is more formal? "Beverage" is a really formal word.


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## oopqoo

Yes, I'd say it's more formal. Less formal than "beverage" is in English but still formal


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## Sprachenlerner

While both of these essentially have the same meaning, the word "שתייה" could also refer to the act of drinking while "משקה" could not.


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## elroy

Isn’t שתייה uncountable?


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## Sprachenlerner

elroy said:


> Isn’t שתייה uncountable?



It is.


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## shalom00

שתייה can mean a single drink or drinks in general, both nouns, or the act of drinking.


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## elroy

Sprachenlerner said:


> It is.


 Right.  So that’s another difference.  You can’t say שתייה אחת.


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## oopqoo

Actually I think it is countable, at least in colloquial. So it's confusing, it can act as both a countable noun and also a collective noun.
Examples to quell the confusion:
הזמנתם שתייה, נכון? = You guys ordered drinks, right? <-- (collective)
כן, הזמנו אבל רק שתייה אחת = Yes, we ordered only one drink though <-- (countable)
כן, הזמנו ארבע שתיות = Yes, we ordered four drinks <-- (countable)

It may sound weird to say or write שתיות, and it's probably erroneous in correct Hebrew, but I can see myself and others I know saying that. Otherwise what would you say? דברים לשתות? You definitely wouldn't say משקאות in a casual situation unless you're trying to sound funny/you're old. 

Good thing you brought that up elroy.


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## sawyeric1

So you can’t just say ארבע שתייה?


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## sawyeric1

You could use משקה at a fancy restaurant though, right?


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