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泡食う (あわくう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
be flustered ; lose one's head ; panic
Idiomatic expression literally meaning 'eat bubbles', used when someone is so flustered or panicked that they act irrationally. Often appears in the set phrase 泡を食う, but the compound 泡食う is also used as a single verb.
See also: 泡を食う
He came running in a flustered state.
Written forms 泡あわ 食く う
Standard kanji spelling for this idiomatic verb.
泡あわ 喰く う
Variant using the older kanji 喰 for 'eat'; less common than 泡食う.
Kanji 喰 eat, drink, receive (a blow) Similar words 慌あわ てる 慌てる is a more general word for being in a hurry or flustered, while 泡食う emphasizes a panicked, irrational reaction.
泡あわ を 食く う The phrasal version with the particle を is more common in some contexts; 泡食う is a compound verb form of the same idiom.
Etymology Compound of 泡 (awa, 'bubble, foam') + 食う (kuu, 'eat'). The idiom 泡を食う (awa o kuu) literally means 'eat bubbles', figuratively describing a state of panic or confusion where one acts irrationally, as if swallowing foam. The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely draws on the image of being so flustered that one metaphorically chokes on bubbles.
