taberu

Taberu is a Japanese verb meaning “to eat” or “to consume.” In modern Japanese it is written in kanji as 食べる or in kana as たべる. It is classified as a ru-verb (ichidan), with a stem formed as tabe-. The dictionary form is 食べる.

Conjugation and common forms include: 食べます (tabemasu, polite present), 食べない (tabenai, negative present), 食べた (tabeta, past), 食べて (tabete, te-form), 食べよう (tabeyou, volitional), and 食べろ (tabero, informal imperative). The potential form is 食べられる (taberareru). Passive and causative forms are formed with taberareru and tabesasaseru respectively, though they are used less frequently in everyday speech.

Usage notes: taberu takes a direct object marked by を, as in りんごを食べる (eat an apple). It appears in numerous compounds and expressions, such as 食べ物 (tabemono, food), 食事 (shokuji, a meal), and 食べ過ぎる (tabesugiru, to overeat). It also appears in idiomatic phrases and sensory expressions related to meals and appetite.

Etymology and scope: 食べる derives from the classical Japanese verb for eating and is a core verb in everyday Japanese. It is used across dialects and registers, from casual speech to formal writing, and serves as a basis for many related terms and idioms related to food and eating behavior.

See also: tabemono, shokuji, tabesugiru, 食事, 食欲.