嗷嗷待哺

áo'áo-dàibǔ

idiom #62,062

Meanings

1 crying piteously for food
2 hungry mouths waiting to be fed; on the brink of starvation

Characters

to feed (a baby/young)

Examples

HSK 7-9

巢里的几只小鸟嗷嗷待哺，等着妈妈回来。

Cháo lǐ de jǐ zhī xiǎoniǎo áo'áo-dàibǔ, děng zhe māma huílai.

The chicks in the nest cried piteously for food, waiting for their mother to return.

HSK 7-9

战乱年代，许多孩子嗷嗷待哺，无家可归。

Zhànluàn niándài, xǔduō háizi áo'áo-dàibǔ, wújiā-kěguī.

In times of war, many children were starving and homeless.

Tips

history

嗷嗷 mimics a baby bird's pitiful cry - the image comes from 《诗经·小雅·鸿雁》: 鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷, 'wild geese in flight, mournfully crying.' Han historian Xun Yue (荀悦) later applied it to starving people.

memory

嗷嗷 (áo'áo) is onomatopoeia - picture the open beaks of baby birds in a nest. 哺 (bǔ) means 'to feed,' as in 哺乳 (breastfeed).

Stroke Order

嗷 áo

待 dài

哺 bǔ