馁 (něi) — (bound form) hungry; starving (literary); (bound form) discouraged; disheartened (in set phrases)

Definition

A literary bound form, not used alone. 饥馁 = starving (physical hunger, classic/literary); 气馁 / 胜不骄，败不馁 = discouraged or losing heart (figurative, in fixed set phrases).

bound form
hungrystarving (literary)discourageddisheartened (in set phrases)

Examples

  • ，馁，。
    Shèng bù jiāo, bài bù něi, cái shì zhēn zhèng de qiáng zhě.
    Not arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat — that's what makes a true strong person.
  • 馁。
    Gǔ dài shī rén cháng xiě jī něi zhī kǔ.
    Ancient poets often wrote about the suffering of hunger.
  • ，。
    Yù dào kùn nan bú yào qì něi, jiān chí jiù néng chéng gōng.
    Don't get disheartened when you encounter difficulties — keep at it and you'll succeed.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 餒; 馁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
妥
妥tuǒ餒něi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 餒 pairs 食 with 妥 as a sound part; the simplified 馁 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

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