饿
Character Story & Explanation
饿 is widely used in modern spoken and written Chinese — especially in casual speech and digital communication. A well-documented real-world example is the popular food delivery app ‘饿了么’ (È le me, ‘Are you hungry?’), launched in 2008 and now one of China’s top platforms. This phrase appears daily in ads, chat messages, and memes, making 饿 instantly recognizable to millions.
The character evolved from seal script, where the left side clearly resembled a cooking vessel (the precursor to 饣), and the right side was a phonetic component (I). While not a pictograph like 日 or 木, its structure has been stable since the Han dynasty. Today, Chinese people use 饿 most often in expressions like ‘我饿了’ (‘I’m hungry’) — a go-to phrase for kids and adults alike.
Hello students! The character 饿 (è) means 'hungry' — a very common, everyday word in Chinese. It’s an HSK Level 3 character, so you’ll see it often in textbooks, conversations, and even food-related apps. Notice its left side is the food radical 饣 (shí), which tells us this character relates to eating or nourishment. That’s a great clue — almost all characters with 饣 involve food, hunger, or digestion.
The right side is 我 (wǒ), meaning 'I' or 'me', but here it serves mainly as a phonetic hint — the pronunciation è shares historical sound roots with 我 (though modern pronunciation differs). Don’t worry about memorizing ancient phonology; just remember: 饣 + 我 = hungry *you* feel! This makes it personal and relatable — hunger is universal, and so is this character.
When writing 饿, remember the stroke order: start with the three-stroke food radical on the left (丶、乛、丿), then write 我 carefully — 7 strokes total on the right. Practice slowly at first: each stroke builds muscle memory. You’ll soon recognize 饿 in signs like '饿了吗？' (‘Are you hungry?’) — a famous food delivery slogan in China!
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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