hunger

See also: Hunger

English

Pronunciation

• (non-rhotic)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhʌŋɡə/, [ˈhʌŋɡə]
  • (Northern England) IPA^(key): /ˈhʊŋɡə/
  • (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈhɐŋɡə/, [ˈhɐ̞ŋɡə]
• (rhotic)
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhʌŋɡɚ/, [ˈhʌŋɡɚ] ~ [ˈhʌŋɡɹ̩]

    • Audio (General American):

      (file)

  • (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈhʌŋɡəɾ/
• Rhymes: -ʌŋɡə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: hun‧ger

Etymology 1

From Middle English hunger, from Old English hungor (“hunger, desire; famine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hungruz, *hunhruz (“hunger”), from Proto-Indo-European *kenk- (“to burn, smart, desire, hunger, thirst”).

Cognate with West Frisian honger, hûnger (“hunger”), Dutch honger (“hunger”), German Low German Hunger (“hunger”), German Hunger (“hunger”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish hunger (“hunger”), Faroese and Icelandic hungur (“hunger”).

Noun

hunger (countable and uncountable, plural hungers)

1. A need or compelling desire for food.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:hungry

2. (by extension) Any strong desire or need.

   I have a hunger to win.

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 1:

     O sacred hunger of ambitious minds!

   • 2003, “What Up Gangsta”, in Curtis Jackson, Rob Tewlow (lyrics), Reef Tewlow (music), Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent, New York City: Shady Records:

     When gangsters bump my shit, can they feel my hunger?

   • 2025 February 6, Angelica Evans, “Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion: Six Month Assessment”, in Ukraine Project, Institute for the Study of War:

     Putin's unwillingness to declare another partial reserve call up has created a wider manpower hunger in the Russian military and border service, and Putin alone maintains the ability to remedy this issue.

Usage notes

• The phrase be hungry is more common than have hunger to express a need for food.

Antonyms

• satiety
• satiation

Derived terms

• air hunger
• anti-hunger
• antihunger
• enhunger
• father hunger
• from hunger
• hanger
• hungerbitten
• hungerer
• hungerful
• hunger is a good sauce
• hunger is the best pickle
• hunger is the best sauce
• hunger is the best seasoning
• hunger is the best spice
• hunger knock
• hungerless
• hungerly
• hunger moon
• hunger-pain
• hunger pain
• hunger pang
• hunger sauce
• hungersome
• hunger stone
• hunger strike
• hungry
• ravenous hunger
• sex-hunger
• shell hunger
• skin hunger

Translations

need for food — see also munchies,‎ starvation,‎ famine

• Abkhaz: амла (amla)
• Afar: luwa
• Aghwan: 𐔱𐕒𐕡𐕚 (bus)
• Akan: ɔkɔm
• Albanian: uri (sq) f
• Altai:

  Southern Altai: ач (ač)

• Andi: моко (moko)
• Arabic: جُوع m (jūʕ)

  Egyptian Arabic: جوع m (ḡūʕ)

  Gulf Arabic: يوع m (yūʕ)

• Aragonese: fambre (an)
• Armenian: քաղց (hy) (kʻaġcʻ), սով (hy) (sov)
• Aromanian: foami f
• Assamese: ভোক (bhük)
• Asturian: fame (ast) f
• Avar: ракъи (raqxʼi)
• Azerbaijani: aclıq (az)
• Bangi: nzala
• Bashkir: аслыҡ (aslıq)
• Basque: gose
• Belarusian: го́лад (be) m (hólad)
• Bengali: খিদা (bn) (khida), ভুখ (bn) (bhukh), ক্ষুধা (bn) (khudha), ভুক (bn) (bhuk)
• Breton: naon (br) m
• Bulgarian: глад (bg) m (glad)
• Burmese: အငတ် (my) (a.ngat), အဆာ (my) (a.hca)
• Carpathian Rusyn: го́лод m (hólod)
• Catalan: gana (ca) f, fam (ca) m
• Cebuano: gutom
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⵍⴰⵥ (laẓ)
• Chechen: мацалла (macalla)
• Chichewa: njala
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 飢餓 / 饥饿 (zh) (jī'è)

• Chukchi: гытъатгыргын (gytʺatgyrgyn)
• Chuvash: выҫӑ (vyś̬ă), выҫлӑх (vyślăh)
• Coptic: ϩⲕⲟ (hko)
• Cornish: nown m
• Czech: hlad (cs) m
• Dalmatian: fum m
• Danish: sult (da)
• Dutch: honger (nl) m, trek (nl)
• Egyptian: (ḥqr)
• Esperanto: malsato
• Estonian: nälg
• Even: дьэмкэн (ʒəmkən)
• Evenki: дему (ʒemu)
• Faroese: hungur m or n, svongd f, svultur m
• Finnish: nälkä (fi)
• French: faim (fr) f
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: honger, hûnger

• Friulian: fan f
• Galician: fame (gl) f, fame negra (gl) f, larota f, gatuza f, larica f, garula f, farca f, carpulla f, garita f
• Georgian: შიმშილი (šimšili)
• German: Hunger (de) m

  Old High German: hungar m

• Gothic: 𐌷𐌿𐌷𐍂𐌿𐍃 m (hūhrus)
• Greek: πείνα (el) f (peína) (daily/ordinary need of food), λιγούρα (el) f (ligoúra) (desperate need of food), ασιτία (el) f (asitía) (scarcity of food due to natural disaster), λιμός (el) m (limós) (scarcity of food due to war)

  Ancient Greek: πεῖνα f (peîna), λιμός m (limós), σιτοδεία f (sitodeía)

• Greenlandic: please add this translation if you can
• Hadza: házze
• Haitian Creole: grangou
• Hebrew: רָעָב (he) m (ra'áv)
• Hindi: भूख (hi) f (bhūkh)
• Hungarian: éhség (hu)
• Icelandic: hungur (is) n, sultur (is) m
• Ido: hungro (io)
• Indonesian: lapar (id)
• Ingrian: nälkä
• Ingush: мецавалар (mecavalar)
• Interlingua: fame (ia)
• Irish: ocras (ga) m
• Istriot: fan
• Istro-Romanian: fome
• Italian: fame (it) f
• Japanese: 飢え (ja) (うえ, ue), 空腹 (ja) (くうふく, kūfuku), 飢餓 (ja) (きが, kiga)
• Kabuverdianu: fómi
• Kapampangan: danup, keranupan
• Kazakh: аштық (aştyq)
• Khakas: ас (as)
• Khalaj: âç
• Kikuyu: ng'aragu class 9
• Kongo: nzala
• Korean: 굶주림 (ko) (gumjurim), 배고픔 (ko) (baegopeum)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: برس (ckb) (birs), برسێتی (ckb) (birsêtî)

  Northern Kurdish: birçîtî (ku)

• Kyrgyz: ачтык (ky) (actık)
• Latgalian: olkonums, bods
• Latin: famēs f
• Latvian: bads m
• Lingala: nzala
• Lithuanian: alkis (lt) m
• Lombard: famm (lmo)
• Louisiana Creole: fim, gran-gou
• Luba-Kasai: nzala
• Luba-Katanga: nzala
• Luxembourgish: Honger m
• Macedonian: глад m (glad)
• Malay: lapar (ms)
• Maltese: ġuħ (mt) m
• Manx: accrys m
• Maranao: gotem
• Marathi: भूख (bhūkh)
• Mongolian: өлсгөлөн (mn) (ölsgölön)
• Navajo: dichin
• Nepali: भोक (bhok)
• Norman: fôim f (Guernsey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sult (no) m, hunger (no) m

  Nynorsk: svolt m, hunger m

• Occitan: fam (oc)
• Odia: ଭୋକ (or) (bhoka)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: гладъ m (gladŭ)

• Old East Slavic: голодъ m (golodŭ)
• Old English: hungor m
• Old Norse: hungr n
• Old Turkic: 𐰀𐰲𐰾𐰴 (āčsïq)
• Ossetian: стонг (stong)
• Papiamentu: hamber
• Pashto: لوږه f (lwᶕɀa)
• Persian: گرسنگی (fa) (gorosnegi)
• Plautdietsch: Hunga m
• Polish: głód (pl) m
• Portuguese: fome (pt) f
• Quechua: yarqay
• Rohingya: búk
• Romagnol: fâm f
• Romani: bokh
• Romanian: foame (ro) f
• Romansh: fom
• Russian: го́лод (ru) m (gólod)
• Saho: luwa
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: nealgi

• Sango: nzala (sg)
• Sanskrit: बुभुक्षा (sa) f (bubhukṣā)
• Sardinian: fàmene
• Scottish Gaelic: acras m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: глад m

  Latin: glad (sh) m

• Sicilian: fami (scn)
• Sindhi: بک (sd) (bkh)
• Slovak: hlad (sk) m
• Slovene: lakota (sl) f
• Somali: gaajo
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: głod m

  Upper Sorbian: hłód m

• Spanish: hambre (es) f, gazuza (es) f (colloquial), gusa f (Spain, colloquial), fambre (es) f (desus.), fiaca (es) f (intense hunger, Uruguay), hambrosio m (uncommon, Peru)
• Sranan Tongo: angri
• Swahili: njaa (sw), unenge (sw)
• Swedish: hunger (sv)
• Tajik: гуруснагӣ (tg) (gurusnagi)
• Tamil: பசி (ta) (paci)
• Tatar: ачлык (tt) (açlıq)
• Telugu: ఆకలి (te) (ākali)
• Tetum: laha, hamlaha
• Thai: ความหิว (th) (kwaam-hǐu)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Tocharian B: kest
• Tumbuka: njala
• Turkish: açlık (tr), aç (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: آجلق (aclık)

• Turkmen: açlyk (tk), aaçlyk
• Tuvan: аш (aş)
• Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎙𐎁𐎐 (rġbn)
• Ukrainian: го́лод m (hólod)
• Unami: kahtupuwakàn
• Urdu: بھوک f (bhūk)
• Uyghur: ئاچلىق (achliq)
• Uzbek: ochlik (uz)
• Venetan: fan f
• Vietnamese: đói (vi)
• Vili: nzala
• Votic: nälče
• Walloon: fwin (wa) f
• Welsh: newyn m
• Yakut: аас (aas)
• Yiddish: הונגער m (hunger)
• Zhuang: iek

strong desire

• Arabic: رَغْبَة f (raḡba), تَعَطُّش m (taʕaṭṭuš)
• Bulgarian: жа́жда (bg) f (žážda)
• Catalan: set (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 渴望 (zh) (kěwàng)

• Finnish: himo (fi), nälkä (fi)
• French: soif (fr) f
• Galician: debezo m, prango m, degoro (gl) m, sede (gl) f, puxo m, degoxo (gl) f, arela (gl) f, gorromela f, enrónica f, engolemia f, anguria f
• Greek: λαχτάρα (el) f (lachtára), πόθος (el) m (póthos), πείνα (el) f (peína)
• Irish: ocras (ga) m, anrachán m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hunger (no) m

  Nynorsk: hunger m

• Polish: żądza (pl) f
• Portuguese: sede (pt) f
• Russian: жа́жда (ru) f (žážda)
• Spanish: sed (es) f, anhelo (es) m, acucia (es) f
• Swahili: njaa (sw), unenge (sw)
• Swedish: hunger (sv)

See also

• thirst

Etymology 2

From Middle English hungren, from Old English hyngran, hyngrian, ġehyngrian (“to be hungry”), from Proto-West Germanic *hungrijan, from Proto-Germanic *hungrijaną.

Verb

hunger (third-person singular simple present hungers, present participle hungering, simple past and past participle hungered)

1. (intransitive) To be in need of food.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 12:20:

     Therefore if thine enemie hunger, feed him: if he thirst, giue him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heape coales of fire on his head.

2. (figuratively, intransitive) To have a desire (for); to long; to yearn. [(usually) with for or after]

   I hungered for your love.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 5:6:

     Blessed are they which doe hunger and thirst after righteousnesse: for they shall be filled.

   • 1993, The The, Love Is Stronger Than Death:

     In our lives we hunger for those we cannot touch.

3. (archaic, transitive) To make hungry; to famish.

Derived terms

• ahungered, anhungered
• forhungered

Translations

need food

• Arabic: جَاعَ (jāʕa)
• Asturian: tener fame, tar esfamiáu
• Bulgarian: гладувам (bg) (gladuvam)
• Cherokee: ᎤᏲᏏᎭ (uyosiha)
• Coptic: ϩⲕⲟ (hko)
• Czech: hladovět (cs)
• Dutch: honger hebben (nl) , hongeren (nl)
• Esperanto: malsati
• Finnish: nähdä nälkää
• French: avoir faim
• German: hungern (de), Hunger haben, hungrig sein
• Gothic: 𐌷𐌿𐌲𐌲𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (huggrjan)
• Greek: πεινώ (el) (peinó)

  Ancient Greek: πεινάω (peináō)

• Ido: hungrar (io)
• Irish: ocras (ga)
• Italian: avere fame
• Japanese: 飢える (ja) (ueru)
• Karakhanid: ااجْماقْ (āčmaq)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: برسی (birsî)

• Latin: ēsuriō (la)
• Louisiana Creole: fim
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sulte (no)

  Nynorsk: svelte

• Old Church Slavonic: алкати (alkati)
• Old Prussian: alkautwei
• Old Turkic: 𐰀𐰲 (āč-)
• Plautdietsch: hungrich sennen
• Polish: łaknąć (pl) impf, głodować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: ter fome
• Romanian: fie foame (ro) (with dative)
• Russian: проголода́ться (ru) (progolodátʹsja), голода́ть (ru) (golodátʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гладо̀вати

  Latin: gladòvati (sh)

• Spanish: tener hambre, hambrear (es)
• Swahili: kuwa na njaa (sw)
• Swedish: hungra (sv)
• Turkish: acıkmak (tr)
• Vietnamese: bị đói
• Yakut: аас (aas)

desire

• Bulgarian: жадувам (bg) (žaduvam)
• Dutch: verlangen
• Finnish: himoita (fi), isota (fi) (archaic)
• French: avoir soif
• Greek: ποθώ (el) (pothó), λαχταρώ (el) (lachtaró)

  Ancient Greek: πεινάω (peináō)

• Japanese: 飢える (ja) (ueru)
• Norwegian: hungre
• Old Church Slavonic: алкати (alkati)
• Polish: łaknąć (pl) impf, pożądać (pl) impf, pragnąć (pl) impf
• Portuguese: desejar (pt)
• Russian: жа́ждать (ru) impf (žáždatʹ), алкать (ru) (alkatʹ)
• Spanish: tener sed, amalayar (es), anhelar (es), ambicionar (es)
• Swedish: hungra (sv)
• Vietnamese: thèm (vi)

References

• “hunger”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• rehung

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hungr.

Noun

hunger c (singular definite hungeren, not used in plural form)

1. (dated, occasionally humorous) hunger

   Synonym: sult

2. (figurative) a strong urge; a longing (for something)

Declension

Declension of hunger

common gender	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	hunger	hungeren
genitive	hungers	hungerens

Derived terms

• hungerkatastrofe
• hungerramt
• hungersnød
• hungersnødsramt
• livshunger
• ulvehunger

Related terms

• hungre
• hungrig

References

• “hunger” in Den Danske Ordbog

German

Verb

hunger

1. inflection of hungern:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative

Middle English

Alternative forms

• hunguer, honguer, honger, hungre, hongre, hungere, hongur, hounger, hounguer, hungir, hungyr, hungur
• hungær, hungor, hunnꟑerr (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English hungor, from Proto-West Germanic *hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hungruz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhunɡər/, [ˈhuŋɡər]

Noun

hunger (uncountable)

1. hungriness (the feeling of being hungry or requiring satiation)
2. hunger (a great lack or death of food or nutrition)
   • p. 1154, “AD 1137”, in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS. Laud Misc. 636, continuation), Peterborough, folio 89, verso; republished at Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 8 February 2018:

     Mani þusen hi drapen mid hungær.

     Many thousands they overcame with hunger.

3. A shortage of food in a region or country; widespread hunger.
   • a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “2 Paralipomenon 6:28”, in Wycliffe's Bible:

     If hungur riſiþ in þe lond and peſtilence and ruſt and wynd diſtriynge cornes and a locuste and bꝛuke comeþ and if enemyes biſegen þe ȝatis of þe citee aftir þat þe cuntreis ben diſtried and al veniaunce and ſikenesse oppꝛeſſiþ […]

     If hunger rises in the land, and pestilence, rust, wind, destroying grain, and locusts and their young come, and if enemies besiege a city's gates after the city's surrounds are ruined, and when any destruction and disease oppresses (people) […]

4. hunger as a metaphorical individual; the force of hunger
5. (rare) any strong drive or compulsion

Derived terms

• hungren
• hungry
• hungrylych

Descendants

• English: hunger
• Scots: hounger, hunger

References

• “hunger, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 19 September 2018.

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German hungar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈhunɡər/

Noun

hunger m

1. famine
2. hunger (need for food)
3. (figurative) hunger (strong desire)

Declension

Declension of hunger (sg-only strong masculine without umlaut)

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	hunger
genitive	eines	dës	hungers, hungeres
dative	eime	dëm	hunger, hungere
accusative	einen	dën	hunger

Descendants

• Central Franconian:
  • Hunsrik: Hunger
  • Luxembourgish: Honger
• Cimbrian: hungar, hummar (Luserna)
• German: Hunger
• Yiddish: הונגער (hunger)

References

• Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1863), “hunger”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel
• Köbler, Gerhard (2014), “hunger”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch‎^[1] (in German), 3rd edition

North Frisian

Alternative forms

• honger (Föhr-Amrum)
• Hunger (Sylt)

Etymology

from Old Frisian hunger, from Proto-West Germanic *hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hungruz.

Noun

hunger m

1. (Mooring) hunger

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hunhruz.

Noun

hunger m (definite singular hungeren, uncountable)

1. hunger

Synonyms

• sult

Derived terms

• hungersnød (“famine”)

Related terms

• hungrig

References

• “hunger” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse hungr.

Noun

hunger m (definite singular hungeren) (uncountable)

1. hunger

Synonyms

• svolt

Derived terms

• hungersnaud, hungersnød

Related terms

• hungrig

References

• “hunger” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse hungr, from Proto-Germanic *hunhruz.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

hunger c (uncountable)

1. hunger

   att känna hunger

   to feel hunger

Declension

Declension of hunger

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	hunger	hungers
	definite	hungern	hungerns
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Derived terms

• lufthunger

Related terms

• hungrig (“hungry”)
• hungra (“to hunger”)

See also

• törst (“thirst”)

References

• “hunger”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “hunger”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “hunger”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)