I Love Kanji食う (kuu)
食う (くう, kuu) is a Japanese verb meaning “to eat”. It appears in JLPT N3 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.
- Reading
- くう
- Romaji
- kuu
- Word class
- Godan verb (う-verb) ending in う
- Level
- JLPT N3 (unofficial)
Meaning
- to eat · godan verb, transitive · masculine
- to live; to make a living; to survive · godan verb, transitive
- to bite; to sting (as insects do) · godan verb, transitive
- to tease; to torment; to taunt; to make light of; to make fun of · godan verb, transitive
- to encroach on; to eat into; to consume · godan verb, transitive
Example sentences
Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.
Conjugation of 食う
Godan verb (う-verb) ending in う. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.
| Form | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 食う | くう kuu |
| Polite (~masu) | 食います | くいます kuimasu |
| Negative | 食わない | くわない kuwanai |
| Polite negative | 食いません | くいません kuimasen |
| Past | 食った | くった kutta |
| Polite past | 食いました | くいました kuimashita |
| Negative past | 食わなかった | くわなかった kuwanakatta |
| Te-form | 食って | くって kutte |
| Potential | 食える | くえる kueru |
| Passive | 食われる | くわれる kuwareru |
| Causative | 食わせる | くわせる kuwaseru |
| Volitional | 食おう | くおう kuou |
| Imperative | 食え | くえ kue |
| Conditional (~ba) | 食えば | くえば kueba |
Kanji in 食う
Related words
Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 食う.
食堂しょくどうdining room食べ物たべものfood食べるたべるto eat食事しょくじmeal (e.g. lunch, dinner)食料品しょくりょうひんfoodstuff食卓しょくたくdining table食品しょくひんfood食物しょくもつfood食欲しょくよくappetite (for food)食料しょくりょうfood食糧しょくりょうfood (esp. staple food such as rice or wheat)昼食ちゅうしょくlunch食塩しょくえんtable salt食器しょっきtableware
Source: JMdict entry 1592100 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.