食べる
taberu[ta̠be̞ɾɯ̟]
The English phrase "to eat" is translated into Japanese as 食べる (taberu).
食べる means to put food into the mouth and swallow it.
Which one should you use?
While 食べる is the dictionary form used in casual speech, 食べます is the standard polite form used with strangers or superiors.
How does it change in a sentence?
The informal past tense of 食べる is 食べた, and the informal negative form (meaning "do not eat" or "will not eat") is 食べない. The polite form of 食べる is 食べます.
How do you pronounce it?
taberu
When do people say it?
When someone is eating, you might say ごゆっくり召し上がってください to mean "Please enjoy your meal".
Did you know?
- In some contexts, the verb 食べる is used to describe 'taking' a certain amount of space or a specific position in a game.
- The phrase 食べる can be used metaphorically to describe 'consuming' things like time or money.
- Before eating, many Japanese speakers say いただきます (itadaku), which literally means 'I humbly receive'.
Examples in context
- これ食べる？Are you going to eat this?This sentence is useful for asking if someone will eat something using 食べる.Tatoeba #12206268 by small_snow, translation #3154896 by CK
- アイス食べる？Do you want to eat some ice cream?This sentence is useful for asking if someone wants to eat ice cream using 食べる.Tatoeba #3699447 by tommy_san, translation #9259553 by GioBo
- 食べる物ある？Is there anything to eat?This sentence is useful for asking if there is anything to eat using 食べる.Tatoeba #8725533 by bunbuku, translation #1977250 by Spamster
- ご飯をいただきます。I will eat rice (a polite phrase typically said before starting a meal).
- 夕食を召し上がってください。Please have dinner.
- ケーキを食べるのは好きですか？Do you like eating cake?
- お昼ご飯を何にしようかな、ラーメン食おうかな。I wonder what to have for lunch, maybe I'll eat ramen.
- 106 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to have for dinner at home.
- 陽太 Yota何か食べる？nanika taberu?Do you want to eat something?
- 美咲 Misakiうん、お腹が空いたよ。un, onaka ga suita yo.Yeah, I'm hungry.
- 陽太 Yotaじゃあ、パスタを食べる？jaa, pasuta o taberu?Then, shall we eat pasta?
- 美咲 Misakiいいよ、それが食べたい！ii yo, sore ga tabetai!Sure, I want to eat that!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 食べる, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
