食う

• 読み: くう
• ローマ字: kuu
• 漢字の分解: 食 (ku/shoku) — eat, food
• 発音: /kɯː/

意味

To eat. A rough, masculine way of saying 'to eat.'

A Group 1 (godan) verb conjugated with the う row. A vulgar/casual alternative to 食べる, used predominantly by men in informal settings. Also has figurative meanings: 時間を食う (to eat up time), 虫に食われる (to be bitten by insects). Using 食う in polite company sounds crude, so learners should recognise it but use 食べる in most situations.

例文

1. 腹が減ったからなにか食おう。
2. この仕事は時間を食うから早く始めよう。
3. 夏は蚊に食われて大変だった。

使い方ガイド

場面: male speech, informal conversations, figurative expressions

トーン: rough

起源と歴史

From Old Japanese. One of the oldest verbs for eating in the language. The kanji 食 is shared with 食べる but 食う predates it and retains a raw, unrefined quality.

文化的背景

時代: Ancient

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal