貪り食う
musaborikuu
To devour in Japanese is 貪り食う (musaborikuu).
The phrase 貪り食う is often used in literary contexts or to describe an animal or a person eating with extreme, almost primal, intensity.
Meaning: to eat greedily (verb)
Which one should you use?
The informal form むしゃむしゃ食べる can also be used to mean devour.
How do you pronounce it?
musaborikuu
Did you know?
- The kanji 貪 is often associated with a sense of 'excessive or uncontrolled desire' in Buddhist contexts, implying a spiritual pitfall.
- While 貪り食う sounds intense and somewhat dark, the informal むしゃむしゃ (musha-musha) is an onomatopoeic word that sounds quite cute and playful in a cartoonish context.
- Unlike English, which uses 'devour' for both a hungry person and a fire consuming a building, Japanese uses different specialized verbs for fire.
Examples in context
- 彼は料理を食い尽くした。He devoured the meal.
- 彼はケーキをむさぼり食った。He devoured the cake.
- 彼女はがつがつと食べる。She devours her food.
- 子供たちはアイスをむしゃむしゃ食べた。The children devoured the ice cream.
- 野獣が獲物を貪り食う姿を見た。Yajuu ga emono o musaborikuu sugata o mita.I saw a beast devouring its prey.
