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饥肠辘辘 (jī cháng lù lù) — very hungry; stomach growling with hunger

Definition

Written idiom meaning the stomach rumbles with hunger — vivid and literary, stronger than everyday 'hungry' (饿). Used in formal writing, not casual speech.

idiom
very hungrystomach growling with hunger

Examples

  • ，饥肠辘辘。
    Wǒ yǐ jīng yì tiān méi chī fàn le, xiàn zài jī cháng lù lù.
    I haven't eaten for a day, now my stomach is growling with hunger.
  • ，饥肠辘辘。
    Tā gǎn le yì tiān de lù, jī cháng lù lù dì zǒu jìn le fàn guǎn.
    After traveling all day, he walked into the restaurant ravenously hungry.
  • ，饥肠辘辘。
    Kàn dào zhuō shàng de měi shí, jī cháng lù lù de wǒ rěn bú zhù dà kǒu chī qǐ lái.
    Seeing the delicious food on the table, I couldn't help but eat voraciously, my stomach rumbling with hunger.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

饥肠hungry intestines
饥jīhungry肠chángintestines
偏正Modifier + head
辘辘
辘lù辘lù

The hungry intestines rumble, and the repeated sound imitates that rumble.

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.

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 →

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 腸; 肠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròubody
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng腸cháng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腸 pairs 肉, the body, with 昜, which gives the sound; the simplified 肠 is a later shorthand.

Open 肠 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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