hungry, starve
On'yomi (音読み)
- キ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- う.える
About this kanji
The kanji 飢 means 'hungry' or 'to starve.' It is often used in verbs and nouns related to hunger and starvation. A common compound is 飢餓 (きが), which means 'starvation,' highlighting the severe lack of food. Another one is 飢え (うえ), which simply translates to 'hunger.' You can also encounter 飢饉 (ききん), meaning 'famine,' referring to widespread scarcity of food. The verb 飢える (うえる) means 'to starve,' and you might hear 飢え死に (うえじに), which refers to dying from starvation. Keep in mind that this kanji strongly conveys a sense of need and desperation, often used in serious contexts.
Example sentences
彼は飢えによる苦しみを知っている。
He knows the suffering of hunger.
Meanings across languages
- English
- hungry, starve
- Tiếng Việt
- đói
- 日本語
- 飢え
- 한국어
- 허기
- 中文
- 饥
- id
- lapar
- th
- หิว
- es
- hambre
- fr
- affamé
- de
- hungrig
- pt
- faminto
Common compounds
- 飢餓starvation, famine, hunger
- 飢えhunger, starvation
- 飢饉famine, crop failure, chronic shortage (e.g. of water)
- 飢えるto starve, to be famished, to be hungry
- 飢え死に(death from) starvation, starving to death
- 飢渇hunger and thirst, starvation
- 飢寒hunger and cold
- 飢民starving people
Words using this kanji
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.