食くい違ちがう

く

い

ち

が

う

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-u), intransitive verb

not match well; not mesh properly

Physical mismatch: seams, gears, or parts that do not align or fit together correctly.

この板いたは継つぎ目めが食くい違ちがっている。
The seams of this board don't match up.
歯は車ぐるまが食くい違ちがって動うごかない。
The gears aren't meshing and won't move.

2

godan verb (-u), intransitive verb

differ; clash; be inconsistent

Abstract mismatch: opinions, facts, accounts, or expectations that conflict or contradict each other.

二人ふたりの証しょう言げんは細こまかい点てんで食くい違ちがっている。
The two testimonies differ on minor points.
彼かれの説せつ明めいは事じ実じつと食くい違ちがう。
His explanation is inconsistent with the facts.

Written forms

食くい違ちがうUsage70%
Standard kanji spelling; high frequency and priority.
くいちがうUsage16%
くい違ちがうUsage6%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form; not a standard written spelling.
食くいちがうUsage6%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form; not a standard written spelling.
食くい違ちがうUsage2%
Variant without okurigana い; less common but encountered.

Kanji

食eat, food
違difference, differ

Similar words

矛む盾じゅんする
矛盾する means logically contradictory, often within a single statement or system. 食い違う is broader: any mismatch, including physical misalignment or differing opinions.
ずれる
ずれる means to be out of alignment or off by a degree, often physically or in timing. 食い違う emphasizes a more fundamental mismatch or conflict.

Etymology

Compound of 食い (continuative form of 食う, 'to eat') + 違う ('to differ'). The 'eating' element figuratively suggests biting into each other in a mismatched way, leading to the sense of not fitting together.