食たべる

た

べ

る

食べる · ichidan verb

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	食たべる	食たべない
Polite	食たべます	食たべません
Past polite	食たべました	食たべませんでした
Past	食たべた	食たべなかった
Te-form	食たべて	食たべないで
Desire	食たべたい	食たべたくない
Potential	食たべられるalso 食たべれる	食たべられないalso 食たべれない
Passive	食たべられる	食たべられない
Causative	食たべさせる	食たべさせない
Causative passive	食たべさせられる	食たべさせられない
Volitional	食たべよう
Polite volitional	食たべましょう
Imperative	食たべろ	食たべるな
Conditional	食たべれば	食たべなければ
Tara conditional	食たべたら	食たべなかったら

Meanings

ichidan verb, transitive verb

eat

General verb for consuming food or a meal.

朝あさごはんを食たべましたか。
Did you eat breakfast?
このケーキ、すごくおいしいから食たべてみて。
This cake is really good, so try some.

ichidan verb, transitive verb

live on; subsist on

Metaphorical extension: to make a living from a particular source of income or support.

彼かれはわずかな給きゅう料りょうで家か族ぞくを食たべさせている。
He supports his family on a small salary.
今いまの収しゅう入にゅうだけでは食たべていけない。
I can't live on my current income alone.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉を残のこさず食たべるto eat something up without leaving any leftovers
出だされた料りょう理りを残のこさず食たべた。
I ate all the food that was served without leaving anything.
〈事こと〉で食たべていくto make a living by doing something
彼かれは音おん楽がくで食たべていくのが夢ゆめだ。
His dream is to make a living through music.
〈人ひと〉に〈物もの〉を食たべさせるto feed someone something
母ははは子こ供どもに野や菜さいを食たべさせようとした。
The mother tried to get her child to eat vegetables.

Expressions

一ひと口くち食たべるeat a mouthful; take a bite
生なまで食たべるeat raw; eat fresh (uncooked)
食たべるラー油ゆchili oil with garlic and onions
ぼりぼり食たべるeat with a crunching sound; munch on
食たべてすぐ寝ねると牛うしになるdon't lie down right after eating (or you'll turn into a cow)

Kanji

食eat, food
喰eat, drink, receive (a blow)

Related words· 7

食くうN3sense 1
食う is a rougher, more casual way of saying 食べる, often used by men in informal speech.
食くらう
食べる is the neutral, polite verb for 'eat', while 食らう is a vulgar, rough term implying greedy or heavy eating.
とる
食べる is the everyday word for eating, while 摂る is a more formal or health-conscious term for taking in food, drink, or nutrients.
喫きっする
食べる is the everyday word for eating, while 喫する is a formal, literary verb that can also cover drinking or smoking.

Show 3 more

したためるN1
食べる is the everyday word for 'eat'; したためる is a literary, old-fashioned way of describing having a meal, often in narrative writing.
口くちにするN2
食べる is the plain, everyday verb for eating anything, while 口にする is more literary and stresses the act of putting food or drink into one's mouth, often in small amounts.
食くい
食べる is the ordinary verb meaning 'to eat', while 食い is its noun form, mostly seen in set phrases and compounds rather than on its own.

Politeness

召めし上あがるhonorific 尊敬語N4sense 1
召し上がる is the honorific form of 食べる, used to show respect when someone else is eating.
頂いただくhumble 謙譲語N4sense 1
いただく is the humble form of 食べる, used when the speaker eats or receives food from someone of higher status.
食くうN3
食べる is the standard, neutral verb for eating; 食う is a rougher, more casual or masculine equivalent of the same act.
召めすN1
食べる is the plain verb for eating, while 召す is an elevated honorific verb used for a respected person's eating or drinking.

Don't confuse with

飲のむN5
食べる is used for eating solid food, while 飲む is used for liquids, swallowing whole, or taking medicine, and the two are often mixed up with soup-like foods (スープを飲む vs. スープを食べる).

Word family· 36

食たべ物ものN5
food
食たべ頃ごろ
ready to eat; ripe; in season
食たべかす
leftovers; food scraps; leavings of a meal · bits of food; food particles (in teeth/mouth)
食たべ放ほう題だいN4
all-you-can-eat; buffet
食たべ盛ざかりN1
hearty appetite of a growing child

Show 8 more

食たべで
substantiality of a meal; fillingness
食たべ処どころ
eatery; restaurant; place to eat
食たべ方かた
way of eating; how to eat
三さん角かく食たべ
triangle eating; rotational eating
食たべ応ごたえ
substantiality; fillingness; heft
食たべかけ
half-eaten; partly eaten
食たべ歩あるき
eating tour; restaurant hopping · eating while walking
食たべ歩あるく
eat one's way through; go on a food crawl; try out various restaurants

See all 36 in Explore →

Written forms

食たべるUsage98%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency word.
たべるUsage2%
喰たべるUsage<1%
search-only kanji form
Rare kanji variant; it is search-only.

Etymology

Derived from classical verb 食ぶ (たぶ) with the addition of the verbal suffix る, forming the modern ichidan verb. The kanji 食 is used for its meaning 'eat'.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉を残のこさず食たべるto eat something up without leaving any leftovers

出だされた料りょう理りを残のこさず食たべた。

I ate all the food that was served without leaving anything.

〈事こと〉で食たべていくto make a living by doing something

彼かれは音おん楽がくで食たべていくのが夢ゆめだ。

His dream is to make a living through music.

〈人ひと〉に〈物もの〉を食たべさせるto feed someone something

母ははは子こ供どもに野や菜さいを食たべさせようとした。

The mother tried to get her child to eat vegetables.

Related words· 7

食くうN3sense 1

食う is a rougher, more casual way of saying 食べる, often used by men in informal speech.

食くらう

食べる is the neutral, polite verb for 'eat', while 食らう is a vulgar, rough term implying greedy or heavy eating.

とる

食べる is the everyday word for eating, while 摂る is a more formal or health-conscious term for taking in food, drink, or nutrients.

喫きっする

食べる is the everyday word for eating, while 喫する is a formal, literary verb that can also cover drinking or smoking.

Show 3 more

したためるN1
食べる is the everyday word for 'eat'; したためる is a literary, old-fashioned way of describing having a meal, often in narrative writing.
口くちにするN2
食べる is the plain, everyday verb for eating anything, while 口にする is more literary and stresses the act of putting food or drink into one's mouth, often in small amounts.
食くい
食べる is the ordinary verb meaning 'to eat', while 食い is its noun form, mostly seen in set phrases and compounds rather than on its own.

Politeness

召めし上あがるhonorific 尊敬語N4sense 1

召し上がる is the honorific form of 食べる, used to show respect when someone else is eating.

頂いただくhumble 謙譲語N4sense 1

いただく is the humble form of 食べる, used when the speaker eats or receives food from someone of higher status.

食くうN3

食べる is the standard, neutral verb for eating; 食う is a rougher, more casual or masculine equivalent of the same act.

召めすN1

食べる is the plain verb for eating, while 召す is an elevated honorific verb used for a respected person's eating or drinking.

Word family· 36

食たべ物ものN5

food

食たべ頃ごろ

ready to eat; ripe; in season

食たべかす

leftovers; food scraps; leavings of a meal · bits of food; food particles (in teeth/mouth)

食たべ放ほう題だいN4

all-you-can-eat; buffet

食たべ盛ざかりN1

hearty appetite of a growing child

Show 8 more

食たべで
substantiality of a meal; fillingness
食たべ処どころ
eatery; restaurant; place to eat
食たべ方かた
way of eating; how to eat
三さん角かく食たべ
triangle eating; rotational eating
食たべ応ごたえ
substantiality; fillingness; heft
食たべかけ
half-eaten; partly eaten
食たべ歩あるき
eating tour; restaurant hopping · eating while walking
食たべ歩あるく
eat one's way through; go on a food crawl; try out various restaurants