食う · godan verb (-u)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 食う | 食わない |
| Polite | 食います | 食いません |
| Past polite | 食いました | 食いませんでした |
| Past | 食った | 食わなかった |
| Te-form | 食って | 食わないで |
| Desire | 食いたい | 食いたくない |
| Potential | 食える | 食えない |
| Passive | 食われる | 食われない |
| Causative | 食わせる | 食わせない |
| Causative passive | 食わせられるalso 食わされる | 食わせられないalso 食わされない |
| Volitional | 食おう | |
| Polite volitional | 食いましょう | |
| Imperative | 食え | 食うな |
| Conditional | 食えば | 食わなければ |
| Tara conditional | 食ったら | 食わなかったら |
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
eat; chow down
Casual or masculine equivalent of 食べる; often used in rough or informal speech.
I'm hungry, so let's go eat some ramen.
こんなまずいもの、食えるか！
How can I eat something this bad!
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
Used in expressions like 食っていく or 食うや食わず to describe scraping by financially.
フリーランスで食っていくのは大変だ。
It's tough to make a living as a freelancer.
あの頃は食うや食わずの生活だった。
Back then, we lived hand to mouth.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
Used for insects or animals biting/stinging; also for tools like saws biting into material.
蚊に食われてかゆい。
I got bitten by a mosquito and it itches.
こののこぎりはよく食う。
This saw bites well.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
Often used in the passive form 食われる to mean being teased or overwhelmed by someone.
先輩に食われてばかりいる。
I'm always getting teased by my senior.
彼の冗談にまんまと食われた。
I totally fell for his joke.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
encroach on; eat into; consume
Describes something gradually taking over territory, market share, time, or resources.
ネット通販が実店舗の売り上げを食っている。
Online shopping is eating into brick-and-mortar sales.
新興企業が大手のシェアを食い始めた。
The startup has begun to encroach on the big company's market share.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
defeat a superior; threaten a position
Often used in sports or competition when an underdog beats a higher-ranked opponent.
格上の相手を食ってベスト8に進出した。
They beat a higher-ranked opponent and advanced to the quarterfinals.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
consume time/resources
Used when an activity takes up a lot of time, money, or effort.
この作業は思ったより時間を食う。
This task takes more time than I thought.
大型車はガソリンを食う。
Big cars consume a lot of gas.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
get hit with; suffer
Colloquial; used when receiving something unpleasant like a scolding, a punch, or a penalty.
遅刻して先生に説教を食った。
I was late and got a lecture from the teacher.
彼はパンチを食ってダウンした。
He took a punch and went down.
godan verb (-u), transitive verb
have sex with a woman
Vulgar, male-oriented slang; often implies a first-time or conquest nuance.
あいつ、また女を食ったらしい。
That guy apparently slept with another woman.
I was hungry so I ate a meal.
He intends to make a living through music.
I got bitten by mosquitoes in the mountains.
I got so overwhelmed by my junior that I couldn't talk back.
The new product is eating into the existing market's share.
An unknown player beat the favorite to win.
This task eats up more time than expected.
I got a knuckle rap from my boss.
cannibalism (in animals); feeding on each other · cannibalization; mutually harmful competition; internecine struggle
glutton; gourmand; big eater
discrepancy; inconsistency; disagreement
eating with one's fingers; snitching food; secret eating · embezzlement; misappropriation; skimming off the top · flirting; playing the field; sampling
bite at; snap at; nibble · jump at; seize eagerly; get one's teeth into · hold on to; cling to; stick to · complain; bicker; find fault
eating and drinking; food and drink
bite (in fishing)
digging in; cutting into · inroads; encroachment; eating into · deficit; loss · wedgie
worm-eaten; moth-eaten · holes eaten by insects · leaf warbler; chiffchaff; willow wren
nest; build a nest · hang out (of a bad group); be based (in); haunt · lodge (in one's mind); be planted; lurk (in one's heart)
not match well; not mesh properly · differ; clash; be inconsistent
gluttony; greed for food
dine and dash; leaving without paying
person who cares only about looks; being attracted only by appearance
missing a meal; going without food
eat into; corrode; bite into
sneaking a bite; snitching food
cling to; hang on to · persist; hound; refuse to back down · sumo technique: grab the mawashi and lower one's hips
ruining oneself through food extravagance
substantiality of a meal; fillingness
profit-taking; realizing gains
food expenses; cost of one's board
eat up and spoil; devour destructively · eat a bit of everything; nibble around · encroach upon; take over; steal (support, market)
first meal ceremony; 100-day celebration
ration out and survive on (some food); get by on (limited food) · eke out a living; scrape by
cannibalism; biting a person · man-eating; cannibalistic
eating heavily; hearty eating; binge eating; gluttony · big eater; trencherman; gormandizer
Rarely used kanji form.