草食(そうしょく)

そうしょく
noun, no-adjective
herbivorous; plant-eating
1. herbivorous; plant-eating
Feeding on plants and vegetation. Used to describe animals that eat only plants.
牛(うし)は草食(そうしょく)動物(どうぶつ)だ。
Cows are herbivores.
草食(そうしょく)動物(どうぶつ)は植物(しょくぶつ)を食(た)べて生活(せいかつ)する。
Herbivorous animals live by eating plants.
恐竜(きょうりゅう)には草食(そうしょく)のものと肉食(にくしょく)のものがいた。
Among dinosaurs, there were both herbivores and carnivores.
2. passive; unassertive (of a person)
In modern slang, describes a person (especially a man) who is passive and unassertive, particularly in romantic relationships. From the term 草食(そうしょく)系(けい)男子(だんし) (herbivore man), coined in the mid-2000s.
彼(かれ)は草食(そうしょく)系(けい)だ。
He's the passive type.
最近(さいきん)は草食(そうしょく)男子(だんし)が増(ふ)えたと言(い)われている。
It's said that 'herbivore men' have been increasing recently.
草食(そうしょく)系(けい)の男性(だんせい)は恋愛(れんあい)に消極的(しょうきょくてき)だと見(み)られがちだ。
Men of the 'herbivore' type tend to be seen as passive in romance.

Has both a biological meaning (herbivorous) and a widely known modern slang meaning (passive/unassertive person). The slang usage comes from the buzzword 草食(そうしょく)系(けい)男子(だんし) ('herbivore man'), coined around 2006 to describe young men who are not aggressively pursuing romantic or sexual relationships.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 草食(そうしょく)動物(どうぶつ): herbivore, herbivorous animal
  • 草食(そうしょく)系(けい): herbivore type (slang for passive person)
  • 草食(そうしょく)男子(だんし): herbivore man — passive, unassertive man
  • 草食(そうしょく)女子(じょし): herbivore woman — passive, unassertive woman

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 肉食(にくしょく): carnivorous — in slang, aggressive and assertive in romance
  • 雑食(ざっしょく): omnivorous — eating both plants and meat
general
Added 2026.3.31 7:21
20500/20954_soushoku