ichidan verb, intransitive verb
tasty; worth eating; worth trying
Describes food or drink that is good enough to eat; often used in casual speech to say something is surprisingly good or acceptable.
このラーメン、意外と食えるね。
This ramen is surprisingly good, isn't it?
あの店の料理は見た目は悪いけど
The food at that place looks bad, but it's worth eating.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
able to make a living; able to subsist
Used when someone can earn enough to live on, often in expressions like 食えるだけの収入 or 食える仕事.
フリーランスでもなんとか食えている。
Even as a freelancer, I'm managing to make a living.
この仕事だけで何とか食える。
I can somehow make a living from this job alone.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
edible
Simply means something can be eaten, without comment on taste. Often used in negative form 食えない to mean inedible.
このキノコは食えるのか？
Is this mushroom edible?
腐ったものは食えない。
You can't eat spoiled food.