忍饥挨饿

忍飢挨餓

rěnjīáiè

idiom HSK 7

Meanings

1 to endure hunger
2 to go hungry

Characters

hungry; starving

Literally 'endure hunger, suffer starvation' — two synonymous pairs for emphasis

Examples

战争年代，很多人忍饥挨饿。

Zhànzhēng niándài, hěn duō rén rěnjīáiè.

During wartime, many people went hungry.

为了省钱，他经常忍饥挨饿。

Wèile shěng qián, tā jīngcháng rěnjīáiè.

To save money, he often went hungry.

Tips

usage

忍饥挨饿 is more literary and emphatic than simply saying 饿 (hungry). It emphasizes prolonged suffering from lack of food.

Stroke Order

忍 rěn

饥 jī

挨 āi

饿 è