How to say “I am hungry” in Chinese
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Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Word by word
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了 (le) here signals a new state - 'I've become hungry'. Swap 饿 for 渴 (kě) to say 我渴了, 'I'm thirsty'.
In a sentence
Wǒ è le, wǒmen qù chīfàn ba.
I'm hungry, let's go and eat.
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
How do you say "I am hungry" in Chinese?+
"I am hungry" in Mandarin Chinese is 我饿了, pronounced wǒ è le. 了 (le) here signals a new state - 'I've become hungry'. Swap 饿 for 渴 (kě) to say 我渴了, 'I'm thirsty'.
What does 我饿了 mean literally?+
我饿了 breaks down as 我 (wǒ) = I, 饿 (è) = hungry, 了 (le) = (change of state). Together it means "I am hungry".
How do I get the tones right in wǒ è le?+
了 (le) here signals a new state - 'I've become hungry'. Swap 饿 for 渴 (kě) to say 我渴了, 'I'm thirsty'.
More phrases like this
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See all the phrases on the how to say things in Chinese index, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.