to booze / to drink
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to booze
Colloquial and derogatory for drinking large amounts of alcohol, often to the point of intoxication.
Anstatt zu lernen, sind sie die ganze Nacht um die Häuser gezogen und haben gesoffen.
Instead of studying, they spent the whole night out on the town and boozed.
to drink
The neutral term for animals drinking liquid.
Die Kühe versammeln sich am Wasserloch, um zu saufen.
The cows gather at the waterhole to drink.
to gulp down
Colloquial for quickly drinking large amounts of a liquid, not necessarily alcoholic.
Nach dem Marathon hat er vor Durst fast einen Liter Wasser auf einmal gesoffen.
After the marathon, he was so thirsty that he gulped down almost a liter of water at once.
The most important clue to the meaning is the subject of the sentence. If it is an animal, 'saufen' (to drink) is the neutral and correct word for drinking. If it is a person, the word usually has a negative or strongly colloquial meaning.
Die Pferde saufen nach dem langen Ritt aus dem Trog.
The horses drink from the trough after the long ride.
When 'saufen' (to booze) is used for people and alcohol, it has a strongly negative and derogatory connotation. It describes not just drinking alcohol, but excessive and uncontrolled drinking that often leads to intoxication.
Jedes Wochenende trifft er sich mit seinen Freunden, um zu saufen.
Every weekend he meets up with his friends to booze.
Even with non-alcoholic drinks, 'saufen' (to gulp down) can be used colloquially. This emphasizes that someone drinks a large amount very quickly, usually because they are extremely thirsty. Watch for signal words like 'vor Durst' (from thirst/being so thirsty) or quantities.
Nach dem Sport habe ich vor Durst einen ganzen Liter Wasser gesoffen.
After exercising, I was so thirsty that I gulped down a whole liter of water.
to drink
„Trinken“ is the neutral term even when someone is consuming larger amounts of alcohol. „Saufen“ can refer to the same action, but colloquially and disparagingly characterizes the drinking as excessive alcohol consumption, often to the point of intoxication. „Trinken“ is appropriate in factual language, while „saufen“ expresses a negative attitude.
Seine Freunde fanden, dass er auf der Feier zu viel soff.
His friends thought he drank far too much at the party.
Er trank auf der Feier mehrere Gläser Bier.
He drank several glasses of beer at the party.
