1.
to eat (vulgar/masculine)
A rough, masculine way to say 'to eat.' More casual and direct than 食べる.
飯を食う。
To eat a meal.
Casual male speech
腹減った、何か食おう。
I'm hungry, let's eat something.
Casual male speech
飯を食う時間もない。
I don't even have time to eat.
俺は朝から何も食ってない。
I haven't eaten anything since morning.
あいつはいつも一人で飯を食っているが、今日は友達と一緒らしい。
He always eats alone, but today he seems to be with a friend.
2.
to make a living, to survive
To earn enough to live on.
これで食っていける。
I can make a living with this.
絵を描いて食っている。
I make a living by drawing.
好きなことで食っていきたい。
I want to make a living doing what I love.
この仕事だけでは食っていけない。
I can't make a living with just this job.
音楽で食っていくのは難しいと言われたが、諦めなかった。
I was told it's hard to make a living with music, but I didn't give up.
3.
to bite, to sting
For insects or animals to bite.
蚊に食われた。
I was bitten by a mosquito.
犬に食われそうになった。
I almost got bitten by a dog.
虫に食われて、足がかゆい。
My leg is itchy because I was bitten by a bug.
夏になると、蚊に食われることが多い。
When summer comes, I often get bitten by mosquitoes.
山でキャンプをした時、ブヨに食われて大変だった。
When I camped in the mountains, I had a terrible time being bitten by black flies.
TRANSITIVITY: 他動詞 (transitive). Pattern: Xを食う.
食う is a rougher, more masculine way to say 'eat.'
REGISTER:
- Very casual, masculine speech
- Can sound vulgar in polite situations
- Often used by men, especially older generations
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 飯を食う (to eat a meal)
- 食っていく (to make a living)
- 〜に食われる (to be bitten by ~)
COMPARISON:
- 食べる: to eat (neutral, polite)
- 食う: to eat (vulgar, masculine)
- 召し上がる: to eat (honorific)
Related Words
Contrast:
食べる (to eat (neutral))