How to Say ‘Did you eat?’ in Japanese
たべましたか
tabe mashi ta ka
[tah-beh mah-shee tah kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Past polite: [たべました] (ate) + [か] (question). You can add [なにを] later for “what did you eat?”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Questions about eating are standard because stomach pain often relates to meals, timing, or suspected bad food.
Phrase Breakdown
たべ
tabe
[tah-beh]
eat (stem: たべ)
「たべ」 is the stem of 「たべる」 (to eat). Used before polite endings like ました.
なにかたべましたか。
Did you eat anything?
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite past marker (part of ました)
「まし」 is part of 「ました」, making the verb polite past: “ate/did eat.”
たべましたか。
Did you eat?
た
ta
[tah]
(past polite ending) ta (part of ました)
「た」 completes 「ました」 to form the polite past.
たべましたか。
Did you eat?
か
ka
[kah]
question particle
「か」 makes it a question: 「たべましたか」 = “Did you eat?”
なにかたべましたか。
Did you eat something?
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