Use 食べる for the act of eating food; choose more polite verbs like 召し上がる in formal settings.
Use 食べる for the act of eating food; choose more polite verbs like 召し上がる in formal settings.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| 私は食べますリンゴを。 | 私はリンゴを食べます。 |
| 彼は毎日食べる走る。 | 彼は毎日走る前に食べる。 |
| 水を食べる。 | 水を飲む。 |
Use 食べる metaphorically to indicate living on something, but clarify the context or choose verbs like 生活する for financial matters.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| 彼は給料で食べる。 | 彼は給料で生活する。 |
| 会社は広告で食べている。 | 会社は広告で収益を上げている。 |
| 学生は奨学金で食べている。 | 学生は奨学金で生活している。 |
Use 食べる when talking about eating food; for the figurative sense of living on a salary, the same verb works but context makes the meaning clear, and other verbs like 稼ぐ may be preferred for financial contexts.
Dropping the object before the verb, as in 私は食べますリンゴを, is wrong.
From Old Japanese taberu, derived from the verb tabu meaning ‘to eat’.
What does 食べる mean?
食べる means ‘to eat’ or, figuratively, ‘to live on’ something such as a salary.
How do you conjugate 食べる in the polite present?
The polite present form is 食べます.
What is the past tense of 食べる?
The past plain form is 食べた.
Is 食べる an ichidan verb?
Yes, it is an ichidan (ru‑verb) and follows regular conjugation patterns.
Can 食べる be used to mean ‘to live on’?
Yes, in contexts like 給料で食べる it means ‘to live on a salary’.
What is a more polite way to say ‘to eat’?
Use 召し上がる for very polite speech.
What is the difference between 食べる and 食う?
食べる is neutral; 食う is more colloquial and can sound rough.
How do you say ‘I don’t eat meat’?
You would say 肉は食べません.
What is the te‑form of 食べる?
The te‑form is 食べて.
What is the origin of 食べる?
It comes from Old Japanese taberu, which itself derives from the verb tabu meaning ‘to eat’.