Chinese word

饿

Pronunciation

Pinyinè

Meaning

  • adjectivehungry

Example

我很饿。wǒ hěn è

I am very hungry.

Illustration for 饿 (hungry)

More examples

吃了一点东西，他就不饿了。chī le yì diǎn dōng xī tā jiù bú è le

After he ate a little, he was no longer hungry.

Core concept

The physical feeling of having too little food in the body.

Common phrases

  • 很饿hěn è

    very hungry

  • 不饿bú è

    not hungry

Similar words

渴kě: Feeling a strong need to drink because the throat is dry.
肚子饿dù zi è: A casual way to say that the stomach feels empty and food is wanted.

Definition in Chinese

感觉需要进食，胃里空虚或能量不足，想吃东西的状态。gǎn jué xū yào jìn shí wèi lǐ kōng xū huò néng liàng bù zú xiǎng chī dōng xī de zhuàng tài

Word origin

The simplified character 饿 (è, "hungry") combines 饣 (shí, "food radical") with 我 (wǒ, "I"), whose main role is to suggest the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • Chinese can place 饿 (è, "hungry") after a person without a word meaning "am," unlike English, which needs "am" in "I am hungry."

Other meanings

  • starvingadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word