Translation guide
How to express 'eat up' in Japanese, covering finishing food, consuming resources, and figurative uses.
To eat all of the food, leaving nothing behind.
The most common and neutral way to say 'eat it all up'. Works in most situations.
Eat up all your rice.
To use up resources like money, time, or energy.
To accept something eagerly, such as praise, attention, or a story.
Directly translating 'eat up' as '食べ上がる' or '食べアップ' is incorrect. Use the phrases provided depending on context.
Incorrect literal translation
彼は一人でケーキを全部食べた。
He ate up the whole cake by himself.
Emphasizes completely finishing the food, often with a sense of accomplishment or difficulty.
I can't eat up this much.
He ate up a large bowl of ramen.
A more vivid, slightly casual way to say 'eat up completely', often implying devouring food quickly.
He ate up the meal in no time.
Literally 'eat up exhaustively', used for consuming resources or devouring food completely.
The project ate up the budget.
The locusts ate up the crops.
A formal, general term for 'consume', suitable for resources, energy, or time.
This app eats up a lot of battery.
Used when time or money is 'taken up' by something, often with a nuance of being deprived.
Commuting eats up my time.
To take something seriously or believe it completely, often used when someone is gullible.
He ate up that joke (believed it was true).
To accept something gladly, like praise or attention.
She ate up the praise.