饿

• Pinyin: è
• Hanzi breakdown: 饿 = 饣(food) + 我 (I, phonetic) — hunger, related to food

Meaning

Hungry; to be hungry. Describes the physical feeling of needing food.

Used both as an adjective (我很饿, I'm very hungry) and a verb (饿了, became hungry). Common expressions: 饿死了 (starving, exaggeration), 饿肚子 (go hungry). Opposite is 饱 (full).

Examples

1. 我饿了，我们去吃饭吧。 I'm hungry. Let's go eat.
2. 你饿不饿？ Are you hungry?
3. 我早上没吃饭，现在很饿。 I didn't eat breakfast; I'm very hungry now.

Usage Guide

Context: food, everyday

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 我好饿啊！(I'm so hungry!)
• 你饿了吗？(Are you hungry?)

Don't Say

• 我是饿 (Don't use 是 with adjectives — say 我很饿 or 我饿了)

Origin & History

Composed of 饣(food radical, simplified from 食) and 我 (I, phonetic) — a feeling related to food, with 我 providing the pronunciation.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal