饥 jī hungry
hungry; starving; hunger; famine
How to remember 饥: 饣 food + 几 how many = hungry. The kids have lost count of how many hours they have gone without food on the long hike, and by noon they are all hungry.
Component breakdown
饥 = 饣 food + 几 how many
- 饣 food
- 几 how many
The kids have lost count of how many hours they have gone without food on the long hike, and by noon they are all hungry.
How it is used
- Hunger/famine, written register. 饥饿 (jī'è) hunger - 忍受饥饿 (rěnshòu jī'è) to endure hunger. 饥荒 (jīhuang) a famine.
- 饥 is the formal noun/root; in everyday speech you say 我饿了 (wǒ è le) I'm hungry using 饿, not 饥. Idiom 饥不择食 (jī bù zé shí) a starving person isn't picky.