食う
くう
to eat; to live; to make a living; to survive
JLPT N3 Common word
Meanings
Godan verb (-u), Transitive
to eatMale speech- to live; to make a living; to survive
- to bite; to sting (as insects do)
- to tease; to torment; to taunt; to make light of; to make fun of
- to encroach on; to eat into; to consume
All 9 meanings
- to defeat a superior; to threaten a position
- to consume time; to consume resources
- to receive something (usu. an unfavourable event)Colloquial
- to have sexual relations with a woman, esp. for the first timeMale speechVulgar
Forms
| Plain | Polite | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 食うくう | 食いますくいます |
| Negative | 食わないくわない | 食いませんくいません |
| Past | 食ったくった | 食いましたくいました |
| Past negative | 食わなかったくわなかった | 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 |
| Volitional | 食おうくおう |
| Imperative | 食えくえ |
| Conditional (ば) | 食えばくえば |
| Conditional (たら) | 食ったらくったら |
Example sentences
黙って食え。
Shut up and eat.
蚊に食われた。
I was bitten by a mosquito.
-
The great fish eat the small.
-
I've just gotten home and had dinner.
-
There is no accounting for tastes.
More examples (10)
-
This job eats money.
トムは蚊に食われた。
Tom was bitten by a mosquito.
-
A samurai, even when he has not eaten, uses a toothpick like a lord.
-
He bit off the meat.
-
The boss bawled me out.
-
I was tried in a kangaroo court.
-
I got involved in other people's quarrel.
食いたいんなら、食え。
If you want to eat, eat.
大型車はガソリンを食う。
Large cars use lots of gas.
-
He who does not work, does not have the right to eat.