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.
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' and 'saufen' both mean that liquid is taken in, but they have a very different tone. 'trinken' is neutral and works for water, coffee, juice, or alcohol. For people, 'saufen' is usually colloquial and often derogatory, especially when someone drinks a lot of alcohol. For animals, however, 'saufen' is normal and neutral. The words can be confused because both describe a similar action. For people, 'trinken' is almost always the safe choice. Use 'saufen' only deliberately, when you mean it to sound rough or critical, or when talking about animals.
Am Montag säuft der Hund nach dem langen Spaziergang eine ganze Schüssel Wasser.
On Monday, the dog drinks a whole bowl of water after the long walk.
Zu Hause trinke ich heute nur Tee, weil ich müde bin.
At home today, I’m only drinking tea because I’m tired.