挨饿 (ái è) — to suffer from hunger, to go hungry, to starve | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

挨饿 is a vivid verb meaning 'to go hungry / suffer starvation' — emphasizes the experience of enduring hunger over time, not a one-time skip of a meal. Note the second tone: ái, not āi (挨挨, 挨家).

verb

to suffer from hungerto go hungryto starve

Examples

，挨饿。
Zài zhàn zhēng shí qī, hěn duō rén dōu zài ái è.
During wartime, many people suffered from hunger.
，。
Wǒ xiǎo shí hou āi guò è, suǒ yǐ zhī dào méi fàn chī de zī wèi.
I went hungry as a child, so I know the taste of having no food.
，。
Tā zhěng zhěng āi le sān tiān de è, cái děng lái le jiù yuán.
He suffered starvation for three full days before rescue arrived.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

挨āiundergo

饿èhunger

“挨” expresses undergoing, and “饿” gives hunger, together meaning to go hungry.

Characters in this word

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

扌矣挨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

矣

矣yǐ挨āi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挨 pairs 扌, the hand form 手, with 矣, which gives the sound.

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 餓; 饿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

我

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 餓 is made from 食, a food part, and 我, a sound part.

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms

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