How do you say "eat" in Japanese?

食べる

tabe ru

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "eat" is 食べる (tabe ru).

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Pronunciation

Taberu splits into three even beats, ta-be-ru, with a soft rolled r closing the word gently rather than sharply.

Writing and usage

食べる is written using kanji. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

私たちは7時に夕食をとります。

watashitachi ha 7 tokini yuushoku wotorimasu.

We eat dinner at seven.

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How to remember 食べる

Taberu contains 'tabe', close to 'tub', so imagine sitting at a table with a tub full of food ready to eat.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 食べる

How do you pronounce 食べる?

Taberu splits into three even beats, ta-be-ru, with a soft rolled r closing the word gently rather than sharply.

Is 食べる formal or casual?

食べる is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 食べる written in Japanese?

食べる is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as tabe ru.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Eat" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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