Japanese symbol for “eat”
食べる
たべる
Romaji: taberu
to eat
In Japanese, eat is 食べる, read たべる (taberu).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- v1, vt to eat
- v1, vt to live on (e.g. a salary); to live off; to subsist on
Written forms: 食べる、喰べる. Readings: たべる.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “eat”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食う | くう kuu | to eat |
| 食らう | くらう kurau | to eat; to drink; to wolf |
| 取る | とる toru | to eat; to have (e.g. lunch); to take (e.g. vitamins) |
| 上がる | あがる agaru | to eat; to drink |
| 喫する | きっする kissuru | to eat; to drink; to smoke |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食事 | しょくじ shokuji | meal (e.g. lunch, dinner) |
| 食品 | しょくひん shokuhin | food; food products; foodstuffs |
| 食べ物 | たべもの tabemono | food |
| 食料 | しょくりょう shokuryou | food |
| 食う | くう kuu | to eat |
See also: Chinese symbol for “eat”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.