食べる

• Reading: たべる
• Romaji: taberu
• Kanji breakdown: 食 (shoku/ta) — food, to eat
• Pronunciation: /ta.be.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To eat; to consume food. One of the most essential daily-life verbs in Japanese.

A Group 2 (ichidan) transitive verb conjugated by dropping る and adding the appropriate ending (e.g. 食べます, 食べた, 食べない). Used for all types of eating, from casual snacking to formal dining. Pairs naturally with the particle を to mark what is being eaten.

Examples

1. 毎朝パンを食べます。 I eat bread every morning.
2. 昨日レストランで寿司を食べた。 I ate sushi at a restaurant yesterday.
3. 辛いものが食べられない。 I can't eat spicy food.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, restaurants, cooking

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Old Japanese. The kanji 食 represents eating, depicting a person sitting before a vessel of food. Historically related to the classical form 食ぶ (tabu).

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal