Definition
饥 is a bound form (成词语素) meaning 'hunger' or 'starvation' — it does not stand alone in modern Mandarin but appears as the first element in compounds like 饥饿 (jī'è, hungry), 饥荒 (jīhuāng, famine), and idioms such as 饥寒交迫 (jīhán jiāopò, suffering from hunger and cold). The English 'famine' only covers one usage; the more common sense is 'hunger' or 'starving'.
b.f.
(bound form) hungerstarve(bound form) famine
Examples
- 。Nà ge dìqū fāshēng le dà jī huāng.A great famine occurred in that region.
- ，。Tā gōngzuò le yì zhěng tiān, jī cháng lùlù.He worked all day, his stomach growling with hunger.
- ，饥。Zài nà zhǒng qíngkuàng xià, tā jī bù zé shí.Under those circumstances, he was so hungry that he grabbed whatever food he could get.
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