How to Write 饥 (jī) — Meaning “hunger; famine”

Picture a hungry person staring at a small table (几) that has no food on it, and the food radical 饣 on the left reminds you that food is missing. This visual of an empty table with the food symbol helps link the shape to the meaning of hunger.

The left radical 饣 is written first with three strokes: a short left-falling stroke, a horizontal hook, and then a vertical rising stroke. The right part 几 consists of two strokes: a left-falling stroke and a horizontal curved hook; make sure the hook curves smoothly and the component is not too wide. A common mistake is to make the vertical rising stroke of 饣 too long or curved.

The radical 饣 is not a standalone character but a component meaning 'food'; 饥 uses it as a radical. The character 饧 (xíng) also has the 饣 radical but with the right part 行, and it means 'sugar' or 'syrup'—completely different from hunger. Visually, 饥 has the simple right side 几 (table), while 饧 has the more complex 行 (walk/row).

饥 appears in common words like 饥饿 (jí'è, hungry), 饥渴 (jīkě, hunger and thirst, also used metaphorically for craving), and 饥荒 (jīhuāng, famine). While not in the HSK vocabulary, it is often found in historical or literary contexts, especially when discussing China's past famines, making it culturally significant for understanding Chinese history.

Common words containing 饥 include: 饥饿 (jī è) — hunger; hungry; 饥渴 (jī kě) — hunger and thirst; craving; 饥荒 (jī huāng) — famine; crop failure.