HanziGuru.飢 · jī
飢
jī[ji1]Tone 1

hungry

HSK 7
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饥
Guru Deep Dive

English · hungry

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:4
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (reformed from food/eat) compact and narrow, while giving the right phonetic component slightly more breathing room.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 飢 uses 食 (food) on the left and 幾 (several/how many) on the right. In simplified Chinese, the food radical is compressed into 饣, and the right side is simplified to 几.
1. Meaning

hungry

starvedfamishedscarcity
Adjective / Bound FormNeutralBound morpheme#physical state#sensations#biology
Sample Usage
  • 我肚子很饿。
    wǒ dùzi hěn è.
    I am very hungry.
  • 饥饿难耐
    jī è nán nài
    hunger difficult to endure
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕi⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
飢
jīji1
++
¯(55)
=jī
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
ji
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound as in jeep
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Flat tongue blade pressed near the hard palate, air forced through a narrow channel.
Final Rhyme
i
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: ee sound as in see
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, unchanging flat pitch, exactly like a singer holding a high note.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse with the retroflex initial 'zh' or aspirated 'q'. It is a clean, unaspirated alveolar-palatal groove fricative/affricate transition.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your pitch high and steady like a flat musical note held in the upper register.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 4 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (reformed from food/eat) compact and narrow, while giving the right phonetic component slightly more breathing room.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 飢 uses 食 (food) on the left and 幾 (several/how many) on the right. In simplified Chinese, the food radical is compressed into 饣, and the right side is simplified to 几.

4. Components

Radical 饣 · Food Radical (food, eating, kitchen)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 饣 (Indicates the category of food or lack thereof (hunger/eating).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 几 (original sound: jī)

The left side shows the food radical (饣), representing meals and eating, while the right side (几) provides the sound clue 'jī', hinting at how the word is pronounced.

  • 饣 Food / eating
  • 几 Phonetic indicator for 'jī'
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed with the food radical (食) and a phonetic element indicating sound. Over time, the form was streamlined into simplified Chinese.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring strictly to the sensation of needing food, it extended to generalized scarcity or lack.

  • Often paired with 饿 (è) to form 饥饿 (jīè), meaning hunger.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: キ / Kun: う.える
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
기
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

When you have NO FOOD (饣) left on your small table (几), your stomach starts crying out 'jī! jī!' because you are desperately hungry.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
几
jīsmall tablePhonetic Core (声旁)
肌
jīmuscle+ ⺼ (meat)
铅
qiānold variant of 鉛|铅[qian1]+ 钅 (metal)
讥
jīto ridicule+ 讠 (speech)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
机(jī)
机 uses the wood radical (木) for machinery/tables, whereas 饥 uses the food radical (饣) for hunger.
肌(jī)
肌 uses the flesh/meat radical (月) for muscles, while 饥 uses the food radical (饣) for hunger.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
災民們忍受著極大的[___]和寒冷。
Clue: jī
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the food radical 饣 with the similar-looking left radicals like 钅 (metal) or 亻 (person).

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 饥 mean and what is its Pinyin?
Production: How do you write the character for 'hungry' (bound form, jī) using the food radical?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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