The character 饿 — “hungry”: how to write it and what it means

饿
è

hungry

10 strokes · HSK 3 · word page

The Chinese character 饿 is read è and means “hungry”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 饿

饿 has 10 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.

To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 饿, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 饿 is made of

On the left, 饣 “food”; on the right, 我, as in 俄 é, hints at the sound.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 饿

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 饿?

饿 has 10 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.

What does 饿 mean?

饿 means “hungry”. It appears in 饥饿 (“hungry”).

How do you pronounce 饿?

饿 is read è. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 饿 have?

10 strokes.

← 助 help渴 thirsty →

More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.

Write 饿 yourself

In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.

Start for free