餓 — Starve / Hungry / Thirst

Master (高手)が, う

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

餓 (readings: が, う; Japanese kanji) means “Starve / Hungry / Thirst”. 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 餓死 (starvation).

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What does 餓 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	餓
Meaning	Starve / Hungry / Thirst
Readings	が, う
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	餓死 (starvation)

How to read 餓

餓 is read が or う depending on the word.

Words with 餓

飢餓nạn đói
餓死chết đói

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Updated: 2026-07-22