Translation guide
The English verb 'feed' covers giving food to people, animals, or machines, as well as supplying materials or data. Japanese uses different verbs depending on what is being fed and the relationship.
To provide food to someone or an animal so they can eat.
Causative form of 食べる (to eat), meaning 'to make/let eat'. Used for feeding people or animals. Can imply forcing or allowing, depending on context.
子供に野菜を食べさせる。
I feed my child vegetables.
I fed the dog some dog food.
Literally 'give feed/bait'. Common for feeding animals, especially pets or livestock. やる is casual; use あげる for politeness.
猫に餌をやるのを忘れないで。
Don't forget to feed the cat.
金魚に餌をやった。
I fed the goldfish.
More formal, 'provide a meal'. Used for people in care settings or formal contexts.
入院患者に食事を与える。
Feed the hospitalized patients.
Specifically means to breastfeed or bottle-feed a baby.
母親は赤ちゃんに授乳した。
The mother fed her baby.
To put something like paper, fuel, or data into a device or process.
General verb 'put in'. Works for feeding paper into a printer, coins into a machine, etc.
プリンターに紙を入れる。
Feed paper into the printer.
コピー機にお金を入れた。
I fed money into the copier.
Means 'supply'. Used for continuous feeding of materials, fuel, or data.
機械に燃料を供給する。
Feed fuel to the machine.
システムにデータを供給する。
Feed data into the system.
Means 'send'. Used for feeding signals or data.
To supply money or resources for a person or group.
Means 'to support' or 'to raise'. Used for feeding and caring for a family.
彼は大家族を養っている。
He feeds a large family.
Same as above, but can imply providing food as part of support.
彼女は子供たちを食べさせるために働いている。
She works to feed her children.
To fuel or gratify an emotion, curiosity, or ego.
Means 'to satisfy'. Used with nouns like 好奇心 (curiosity) or 欲望 (desire).
彼の話は私の好奇心を満たした。
His story fed my curiosity.
Means 'to fan' or 'stir up'. Used for feeding negative emotions like fear or anger.
その噂が不安をあおった。
The rumor fed anxiety.
食べさせる is a causative verb that can be used for both people and animals. 餌をやる is specifically for animals and implies giving feed. For pets, 餌をあげる is more polite than 餌をやる.
犬に餌をあげました。
I fed the dog (polite).
The loanword フィードする exists but is mainly used in technical contexts (e.g., social media feeds). For general feeding, use native Japanese verbs.
Feed a signal to the antenna.