充饥 (chōng jī) — to allay one's hunger, to stave off hunger

Definition

充饥 (chōngjī) is a verb-object phrase meaning to temporarily relieve or stave off hunger — eating just enough to get by, not for a full meal (e.g., snacks on the road). It is a set expression, not a separable verb.

verb
to allay one's hungerto stave off hunger
Easily confused

Examples

  • 充饥充饥，。
    Xiān chī kuài miàn bāo chōng jī chōng jī chōng chōng jī, děng huì r zài chī fàn.
    First eat a piece of bread to stave off hunger; we'll eat a proper meal later.
  • 充饥。
    Lù shang zhī dài le xiē gān liang chōng jī.
    I only brought some dry provisions on the road to allay my hunger.
  • ，充饥。
    Shí zài è le, suí biàn chī gè píng guǒ chōng jī jiù xíng le.
    If you are really hungry, just grab an apple to stave off hunger.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

充chōngfill
饥jīhunger

充 means fill, and 饥 means hunger: eating something fills the stomach so hunger is relieved.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 𠫓𠫓𠫓a newborn
  • 儿儿érstanding person

充 pairs 𠫓, a newborn, with 儿, a standing person, to picture a newborn growing to stand.

Open 充 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飢; 饥 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 饥 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饥饿) it is 飢; in others it is 饑.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ飢jī
Same sound today

The traditional form 飢 uses 食 for food and 几 for the sound; the simplified 饥 is a shorthand.

Open 饥 →

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