食べる|たべるtaberu[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto eat
- ichidan verb, transitive verbto live on (e.g. a salary); to live off; to subsist on
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 食べる（たべる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 食べます（たべます） |
| Negative (nai) | 食べない（たべない） |
| polite (masen) | 食べません（たべません） |
| classical zu / nu | 食べず・食べぬ（たべず・たべぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 食べた（たべた） |
| polite (mashita) | 食べました（たべました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 食べなかった（たべなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 食べませんでした（たべませんでした） |
| Te form | 食べて（たべて） |
| Potential | 食べられる（たべられる） |
| Passive | 食べられる（たべられる） |
| Causative | 食べさせる（たべさせる） |
| Causative passive | 食べさせられる（たべさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 食べれば（たべれば） |
| tara | 食べたら（たべたら） |
| Volitional | 食べよう（たべよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 食べましょう（たべましょう） |
| Imperative | 食べろ（たべろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym食うくうCasualA rough, colloquial way to say 「食べる」, used mostly by men. It also covers insects biting and using something up, as in 「時間を食う」.
- Synonym食らうくらうCasualRough colloquial verb for eating and drinking; it also means taking a hit or suffering something, as in 「パンチを食らう」.
- Synonym喫するきっするWrittenWritten word for eating, drinking or smoking; it also means to suffer a defeat, as in 「惨敗を喫する」.
- SynonymはむWrittenWritten word for animals grazing, as in 「草を食む」; it can also mean drawing a stipend. In everyday speech you would just say 「食べる」.
- Synonym食するしょくするWrittenWritten-style word for eating, common in writing about food culture. In daily conversation, say 「食べる」.
- Synonym食すおすWrittenArchaic verb for eating and drinking, also for wearing clothes or governing. Today it survives only in classical texts.
- Related召し上がるめしあがるFormalHonorific for 「食べる」 and 「飲む」, raising whoever eats or drinks — the listener or someone else — as in 「どうぞ召し上がってください」.
- RelatedいただくFormalHumble form of 「食べる」 and 「飲む」, used about yourself, as in 「いただきます」.
- Related摂食せっしょくWrittenTechnical term in physiology and medicine for taking in food, as in 「摂食障害」.
- Antonym吐くはくNeutralThe opposite of 「食べる」: to bring food you have eaten back up and out of the mouth.
- Antonym絶食するWrittenThe opposite of 「食べる」: to eat nothing at all, often for medical treatment or ascetic training.
Use 「食べる」 as the default word for eating. For rough male speech pick 「食う」 or 「食らう」; to show respect for the person who eats use 「召し上がる」, and to be humble about your own eating use 「いただく」. 「食する」, 「喫する」 and 「摂食」 belong to written or technical prose, 「食む」 is written style, and 「食す」 is archaic. The antonyms are 「吐く」 (throw up) and 「絶食する」 (fast).
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
