食べます
tabemasu
In Japanese, 'I will eat' is expressed as 食べます (tabemasu).
This phrase is used to state an intention or a habit regarding eating.
Which one should you use?
For a very direct and polite way to express the intention of eating a meal, you can use 食事をします. In casual conversation, you might use 食べるよ to add a friendly tone or the much more casual and colloquial 飯食う.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 食べます is the polite form used with strangers or superiors. For casual speech with friends or family, you can use the dictionary form 食べる. For a friendly, conversational tone, 食べるよ is used, while 飯食う is a casual and colloquial option. For a very direct and polite expression of the intention to eat, 食事をします is used.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, speakers often use 食べるで instead of 食べるよ.
How do you pronounce it?
tabemasu
When do people say it?
Before eating a meal, Japanese speakers typically say いただきます as a ritualized expression of gratitude.
Did you know?
- The casual phrase 飯食う (meshi kuu) uses the verb 食う (kuu), which is also the term used for how animals eat. Using this instead of 食べる creates a rugged, primal, or highly informal tone.
- While 食べます means 'I will eat', Japanese often omits the word for 'I' entirely. Including the pronoun 私は (watashi wa) before 食べます can actually sound unnatural or overly emphatic in a standard mealtime context.
- If you want to describe someone as a 'food lover', you can use the word 食いしん坊 (kuishinbou), which carries a much more affectionate and cute connotation than the English word 'glutton'.
Examples in context
- 明日の夜、レストランで食事をします。Tomorrow evening, I will eat at a restaurant.
- 朝ごはんを食べます。Asagohan o tabemasu.I will eat breakfast.
- 魚を食べます。Sakana o tabemasu.I will eat fish.
- ここで昼ごはんを食べます。Koko de hirugohan o tabemasu.I will eat lunch here.
Example conversation
Misaki and Ren are deciding what to do for lunch.
- 蓮 Ren美咲さんは何を食べる？Misaki-san wa nani o taberu?What will you eat, Misaki?
- 美咲 Misaki私はパスタを食べます。Watashi wa pasuta o tabemasu.I will eat pasta.
- 蓮 Renいいですね。僕もそれにします。Ii desu ne. Boku mo sore ni shimasu.That sounds good. I'll have that too.
- 美咲 Misaki一緒に注文しましょう。Issho ni chūmon shimashō.Let's order together.
