Translation guide
The English verb "consume" covers several distinct meanings. This guide helps learners choose the right Japanese expression for eating/drinking, using up resources, being overwhelmed by emotion, or destroying by fire.
To take food or drink into the body.
The most common and neutral verb for eating solid food.
彼は毎朝パンを食べる。
He consumes bread every morning.
The standard verb for drinking liquids.
彼女は一日にコーヒーを三杯飲む。
She consumes three cups of coffee a day.
A formal or technical term for intake or ingestion, often used in medical or nutritional contexts.
一日に必要なカロリーを摂取する。
Consume the necessary calories per day.
A rough, masculine, or casual verb for eating. Can sound vulgar or animalistic.
Avoid in polite conversation; use 食べる instead.
腹が減ったから、何か食うものないか。
I'm hungry; is there anything to consume?
To use fuel, energy, time, money, or other resources.
The most direct equivalent for consuming resources, energy, or goods.
この車はガソリンを大量に消費する。
This car consumes a lot of gasoline.
その作業は多くの時間を消費した。
That task consumed a lot of time.
A general verb for 'use', often natural when talking about consuming time, money, or effort.
Emphasizes spending or expending resources, often time, money, or effort, sometimes with a nuance of waste.
To consume or deplete resources, often implying wear and tear or exhaustion of supplies.
戦争は国の資源を消耗する。
War consumes a nation's resources.
To be completely absorbed or overwhelmed by a feeling, such as envy, guilt, or curiosity.
A common pattern meaning 'to be driven by (an emotion)'. Used with nouns like 嫉妬 (jealousy), 好奇心 (curiosity), 不安 (anxiety).
彼は嫉妬に駆られて、つい嘘をついた。
Consumed by jealousy, he ended up lying.
Means 'to be tormented by' a negative emotion like guilt or anxiety. Stronger than 駆られる.
彼女は罪悪感に苛まれている。
She is consumed by guilt.
Literally 'become a captive of', used for being consumed by an interest or passion.
彼は切手収集のとりこになった。
He was consumed by stamp collecting.
To be completely burned up or destroyed by flames.
To burn something completely, reducing it to ashes. Often used for buildings or large areas.
火事が村全体を焼き尽くした。
The fire consumed the entire village.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to burn out completely'. Focuses on the state of being consumed by fire.
A formal term meaning 'to be destroyed by fire', often used in news reports.
倉庫が全焼失した。
The warehouse was completely consumed by fire.
消費する is more specific to consumption (using up), while 使う is a general 'use'. For time, 使う is often more natural in casual speech. 消費する is preferred in technical or environmental contexts (e.g., energy consumption).
English 'consumed by envy' cannot be directly translated as 嫉妬を消費する. Use idiomatic patterns like 〜に駆られる or 〜に苛まれる.
This project consumed a lot of time.
彼は研究に全財産を費やした。
He consumed his entire fortune on research.
家は一時間で燃え尽きた。
The house was consumed by fire in an hour.