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I've often seen 「食べる」 used, when should we use 「食う」 ? Are these two
interchangeable ? Can you provide examples ?
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usage readings register
What is the difference between 「食う」 and 「食べる」?
They both mean "eat", as you no doubt already know.

`食{た}べる`however, is "eat" in the sense of "sit down and have a meal". Not
strictly that, but that's more the image. It also means eat as in
"sustenance", the food you eat regularly to stay alive.

`食{く}う` is eat in the sense of "consume", as in one animal eating another.
`食う` can be used for people, of course, and it conveys a more raw sense of
"I'm going to get this food in me!"

So, to get more specific to your question...

They are not entirely interchangeable because of the different implications
described above.

An example of `食べる` is

> 食{た}べるために働{はたら}いている。
>
> _(I) work so that I can eat_

Note in this example, there's the dual implication of working so that one can
afford meals, and also to maintain oneself by having continued access to
sustenance.

An example of `食う` is:

> 食{く}うか食{く}われるかの世{よ}の中{なか}
>
> _In this world, it's eat or be eaten. "It's a dog eat dog world"_
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I'm not sure where you're from, Aki, but depending on your native language you
might have already come across a pair of words that mean almost the same
thing, but one of them has a slightly bad connotation where the other is more
neutral.

In my native language, German, we have "essen" (to eat [humanly], 食べる) and
"fressen" (to eat [animalistic], 食う).
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It's probably worth noting that 食う also gets used for things like time and
money getting eaten up 「暇も金もパチンコ機器に食われちゃった。」 and being on the receiving end of
bad stuff 「激しいパンチを食った。」 「お目玉(叱り)を食った。」. There's also a similar verb 食らう (くらう),
with pretty much the same meaning.
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2011-09-05T23:00:19.237
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食う is often used by teenage or young adults, especially males.

According to a discussion I had with thirty-something Japanese guy the other
day, it's a verb that people start to stop using when they reach 25/35, at
which stage they go back to the less vernacular 食べる.

However, 食う is pervasive in some dialects. For example, in Tôhoku, "食べてください"
("please eat") is often said "け", derived from "食え" ("eat!").
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