食い違う・食違う|くいちがうkuichigau[0]heiban (flat)
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Which spelling to use
食い違う食い違う is the most common written form and the recommended first choice for beginners. It describes mismatched seams, poorly meshing gears, differing opinions, and clashes.
食違う食違う is less common than 食い違う but remains a written variant with the same meanings, including mismatched seams, poorly meshing gears, differing opinions, and clashes.
Definitions
- godan verb, intransitive verbto not match well (e.g. at the seams); to not mesh properly (of gears)
- godan verb, intransitive verbto differ (e.g. of opinions); to clash; to be in conflict (e.g. with the facts); to run counter (to); to be inconsistent (with); to be contradictory
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 食い違う（くいちがう） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 食い違います（くいちがいます） |
| Negative (nai) | 食い違わない（くいちがわない） |
| polite (masen) | 食い違いません（くいちがいません） |
| classical zu / nu | 食い違わず・食い違わぬ（くいちがわず・くいちがわぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 食い違った（くいちがった） |
| polite (mashita) | 食い違いました（くいちがいました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 食い違わなかった（くいちがわなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 食い違いませんでした（くいちがいませんでした） |
| Te form | 食い違って（くいちがって） |
| Potential | 食い違える（くいちがえる） |
| Passive | 食い違われる（くいちがわれる） |
| Causative | 食い違わせる（くいちがわせる） |
| Causative passive | 食い違わせられる・食い違わされる（くいちがわせられる・くいちがわされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 食い違えば（くいちがえば） |
| tara | 食い違ったら（くいちがったら） |
| Volitional | 食い違おう（くいちがおう） |
| polite (mashou) | 食い違いましょう（くいちがいましょう） |
| Imperative | 食い違え（くいちがえ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Related相違そういWrittenWritten/formal noun for a difference or discrepancy, as in 「事実と相違する」; 「食い違う」 stresses statements or opinions failing to line up.
- Related違うちがうNeutralThe everyday, all-purpose word for being different or wrong; broad in range and does not stress two sides contradicting each other the way 「食い違う」 does.
- Related牴牾ていごWrittenWritten/formal term for conflict or contradiction, with a classical Chinese flavor; rare in modern usage.
- Relatedぶつかり合うぶつかりあうNeutralNeutral verb for two sides colliding or clashing head-on, as in 「意見がぶつかり合う」; 「食い違う」 is about accounts not matching, not open collision.
- Antonym合うあうNeutralNeutral verb for things matching, fitting or getting along; the opposite of 「食い違う」, which is about failing to line up.
- Antonym一致するNeutralNeutral verb meaning to agree or match; the direct opposite of 「食い違う」.
Use 「食い違う」 when statements, opinions or testimony fail to match, as in 「証言が食い違う」. For differences in formal documents pick 「相違」; for everyday difference use 「違う」; for head-on clashes 「ぶつかり合う」; for agreement 「一致する」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
