NetChai Chinese
我饿了
wǒ è le
Im hungry · trad. 我餓了

我饿了 (wǒ è le) is the most common and natural way to say "I'm hungry" in Mandarin Chinese. The particle 了 (le) is important here, indicating a change of state – you weren't hungry before, but now you are.

When to use it

Neutral and appropriate for most situations. To express being "very hungry" or "starving," you can use stronger variations. If someone asks if you're hungry, you can simply reply 饿了 (è le) or 不饿 (bù è, "not hungry").

How to pronounce it

Sounds roughly like "waw UH luh." 我 (wǒ) is a third tone (falling-rising), 饿 (è) is a fourth tone (sharp falling), and 了 (le) is a light, neutral tone.

Other ways to say it

  • 我有点饿wǒ yǒu diǎn èI'm a bit hungry
  • 我好饿wǒ hǎo èI'm so hungry (casual, expressive)
  • 我快饿死了wǒ kuài è sǐ leI'm starving / I'm almost dead from hunger

Examples

我饿了，我们去吃饭吧。
wǒ è le ， wǒ men qù chī fàn ba 。
I'm hungry, let's go eat.
你饿了吗？
nǐ è le ma ？
Are you hungry?
我有点饿，想吃点东西。
wǒ yǒu diǎn è ， xiǎng chī diǎn dōng xī 。
I'm a bit hungry, I want to eat something.
Pro tip: The particle 了 (le) is crucial when expressing a current state of hunger. It signals a change from a previous state. Saying just 我饿 (wǒ è) without 了 (le) sounds incomplete or less natural for expressing a current feeling of hunger.

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