忍饥挨饿
rěn jī ái è · HSK 7
starving
🍽️ 忍 endure + 饥 hunger + 挨 suffer + 饿 hungry = enduring and suffering hunger
Two pairs stacked for emphasis: 忍饥 (endure hunger) plus 挨饿 (suffer starvation). 挨 here means to bear or undergo something unwanted, so the whole four-character set doubles down on going without food.
忍 — blade 刃 (phonetic) + heart 心 (semantic)
忍 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 心 'heart' below gives the meaning, while 刃 'blade' above provides the sound. The image of a blade over the heart vividly suggests enduring pain or restraining oneself, hence the meanings 'endure, bear, be patient'.
挨 — hand radical 扌 + 矣 (phonetic)
挨 is a phonetic-semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 signals a meaning related to physical contact, while 矣 supplies the sound. It originally meant to push or strike with the hand, then broadened to 'lean against' and 'be next to' (āi), and later extended to 'suffer' or 'endure' a blow (ái).
饿 — food radical 饣 + 我 (wǒ)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The food radical 饣 (simplified from 食) signals the meaning 'hunger,' while 我 provides the sound. The traditional form 餓 makes the food component clearer. Originally meaning severe hunger or starvation, it now covers the everyday sense of being hungry.