飢 — “Hungry / Starve” in Japanese

Master (高手)き, う

Radical ⾷ · radical 184 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Hungry / Starve” in Japanese is 飢, read ki, u (き, う). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 飢餓 (starvation).

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What does 飢 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	飢
Meaning	Hungry / Starve
Readings	き, う
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	飢餓 (starvation)

How to read 飢

飢 is read ki (き) or u (う) depending on the word.

Words with 飢

飢餓

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Updated: 2026-08-28