飢

The glyph covers two scales: the individual physiological state (hunger, starving) and systemic societal events (famine, food scarcity).

Functions as a noun ("famine" or "years of hunger"), an adjective/predicate ("hungry," "starving"), or a verb ("to suffer from hunger," "to starve").

In earlier texts, 飢 often denotes the general condition of deprivation or chronic insufficiency, whereas 餓 (è) typically refers to the acute physical agony of starvation or biological wasting. In political or moralizing contexts, 飢 usually signifies systemic failure or social catastrophe rather than simple appetite, frequently appearing alongside 貧 (poverty) and 困 (distress).

The semantic variant 饑 (U+9951) is highly prevalent in pre-modern prints and manuscripts. Simplified variant: 饥 (U+9965).