食う・喰う・啖う|くうkuu[1]atamadaka (head-high)
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Which spelling to use
食う食う is the most common written form and the recommended default for beginners; it is written with kanji and kana.
喰う喰う is a less common written variant of 食う, also written with kanji and kana; choose it less often than 食う.
啖う啖う is a rarely used written form of 食う, written with kanji and kana; learners will seldom need to choose it.
Definitions
- godan verb, transitive verbto eat
- godan verb, transitive verbto live; to make a living; to survive
- godan verb, transitive verbto bite; to sting (as insects do)
- godan verb, transitive verbto tease; to torment; to taunt; to make light of; to make fun of
- godan verb, transitive verbto encroach on; to eat into; to consume
- godan verb, transitive verbto defeat a superior; to threaten a position
- godan verb, transitive verbto consume time; to consume resources
- godan verb, transitive verbto receive something (usu. an unfavourable event)
- godan verb, transitive verbto have sexual relations with a woman, esp. for the first time
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 食う（くう） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 食います（くいます） |
| Negative (nai) | 食わない（くわない） |
| polite (masen) | 食いません（くいません） |
| classical zu / nu | 食わず・食わぬ（くわず・くわぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 食った（くった） |
| polite (mashita) | 食いました（くいました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 食わなかった（くわなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 食いませんでした（くいませんでした） |
| Te form | 食って（くって） |
| Potential | 食える（くえる） |
| Passive | 食われる（くわれる） |
| Causative | 食わせる（くわせる） |
| Causative passive | 食わせられる・食わされる（くわせられる・くわされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 食えば（くえば） |
| tara | 食ったら（くったら） |
| Volitional | 食おう（くおう） |
| polite (mashou) | 食いましょう（くいましょう） |
| Imperative | 食え（くえ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym食らうくらうCasualCruder than 「食う」: rough colloquial talk for eating or drinking, and also for taking a hit or suffering something, as in 「パンチを食らう」.
- Synonym食べるたべるNeutralThe ordinary, polite everyday word for eating, as in 「ご飯を食べる」; 「食う」 is its rough, masculine counterpart.
- Synonym喫するきっするWrittenWritten/formal prose for eating, drinking or smoking, and for suffering something, as in 「惨敗を喫する」.
- Synonym食するしょくするWrittenWritten/formal word for eating, as in 「生で食する」; in everyday speech say 「食べる」.
- Synonym食すおすWrittenArchaic word for eating and drinking, also for wearing clothes or ruling; not used in modern Japanese.
- Related召し上がるめしあがるFormalHonorific for 「食べる」 and 「飲む」, used for someone else's eating or drinking, as in 「どうぞ召し上がってください」.
- RelatedいただくFormalHumble word for one's own eating or drinking, the polite counterpart of 「食べる」, as in 「いただきます」.
- Antonym吐くはくNeutralAntonym: to spit or send something out of the mouth, the reverse of taking food in.
For everyday eating use 「食べる」; 「食う」 is a rough, masculine way to say it, and 「食らう」 is cruder still. Use the honorific 「召し上がる」 for someone else's eating and the humble 「いただく」 for your own.
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
