Sections
食うKuu: what it means in anime
くう · kuu
to eat; to live; to make a living
Kuu means "to eat", in a rough, masculine way. It is what guys say instead of 食べる, and in dark anime it is also the word for monsters eating people.
Updated October 24, 2026
Where you hear it
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あ っ ポップコーン食いたい！
Jujutsu KaisenEpisode 3 · 14 lines in episodes 1–3 -
禰豆子は人を食ったりしない！
Demon SlayerEpisode 1 · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 -
俺はゴムゴムの実を食ったんだ
One PieceEpisode 3 · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 More examples (7)
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うどん 食っていいっすか？
Chainsaw ManEpisode 2 · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 -
俺たち 食われちゃうんだ ！
Reincarnated as a SlimeEpisode 2 · 10 lines in episodes 1–3 -
早くしろ！ 食い殺されるぞ！
Attack on TitanEpisode 2 · 8 lines in episodes 1–3 -
馬のクソでも食ってる気分だよ
Tokyo GhoulEpisode 2 · 6 lines in episodes 1–3 -
お前どんだけ食うんだよ！ あ…
Toradora!Episode 2 · 6 lines in episodes 1–3 -
街に出りゃ ペットは食い放題
Dr. StoneEpisode 2 · 6 lines in episodes 1–3 -
くそーっ 塩振って食っちまうぞ
Cowboy BebopEpisode 2 · 4 lines in episodes 1–3
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Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
Usage and nuance
飯食おうぜ is "let's grab food", a very male, casual line. 食べる is neutral and polite enough for anyone; 食う sounds hungry and blunt.
In Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, 食う and its passive 食われる ("to be eaten") are how characters talk about being devoured.
It shows up in idioms too: 食えない奴 is "a slippery, sly person", someone you cannot quite swallow.
Hear 食う in Jujutsu Kaisen14 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account