食べました
tabemashita
In Japanese, "I ate" is expressed as 食べました (tabemashita).
This phrase is a statement used to say that you have consumed food in the past. In Japanese, the subject "I" is typically omitted from the sentence if it is clear from the context.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 食べました is built from the verb stem 食べ, which means "eat (stem)" and the polite past tense suffix mashita.
How does it change in a sentence?
The informal version of "I ate" is 食べた.
How do you pronounce it?
tabemashita
Did you know?
- In a formal business setting, a person might use いただきました instead of 食べました to show humility and respect toward the provider of the food.
- In many Japanese households, instead of saying 'I ate', people say ごちそうさまでした (gochisousama deshita) to express gratitude to the person who prepared the meal.
- Japanese has a specific word 食いしん坊 for someone who loves to eat, which is a playful evolution of the root word for 'eat'.
Examples in context
- パンだけ食べました。I ate only bread.This sentence shows how to specify that only bread was eaten using 食べました.Tatoeba #10899754 by small_snow, translation #12455085 by CK
- ポテトを食べました。I ate some fries.This sentence shows how to say you ate some fries using 食べました.Tatoeba #12022969 by small_snow, translation #11896907 by zogwarg
- パンを半分食べました。I ate half the bread.This sentence shows how to say half the bread was eaten using 食べました.Tatoeba #10899758 by small_snow, translation #12455091 by CK
- 昨日、寿司を食べました。Yesterday, I ate sushi.
- おいしいケーキを食べた！I ate a delicious cake!
- 昨日、ラーメンを食った！Yesterday, I ate ramen!
- 30 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hina and Yota are talking about their lunch.
- 陽葵 Himari陽太くんはもう昼ごはんを食べましたか？Yota-kun wa mou hirugohan o tabemashita ka?Yota, did you already eat lunch?
- 陽太 Yotaはい、さっき食べました。Hai, sakki tabemashita.Yes, I ate a little while ago.
- 陽葵 Himari何を食べましたか？Nani o tabemashita ka?What did you eat?
- 陽太 Yota美味しいお弁当を食べました。Oishii obento o tabemashita.I ate a delicious boxed lunch.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
