ひもじい

ひもじい
i-adjective
hungry, starving
literaryhealthemotion
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Presentひもじいひもじくない
Pastひもじかったひもじくなかった
て formひもじくてひもじくなくて
Adverbialひもじく
Conditional ばひもじければひもじくなければ
Conditional たらひもじかったらひもじくなかったら
1. hungry, starving
Experiencing hunger, especially a deep or prolonged hunger. More evocative and literary than the everyday お(なか)()いた.
ひもじい(おも)する
To go hungry.
In the postwar period, days of hunger continued.
()どもたちひもじい(おも)だけさせたくなかった
I never wanted to let the children go hungry.

Usage

Stronger and more emotive than (なか)()いた (I'm hungry). Often appears in narratives about poverty, wartime, or hardship. The set phrase ひもじい(おも)する (to experience hunger / to go hungry) is the most common usage.

Etymology

Derived from ひもじ, a 女房詞(にょうぼうことば) (court ladies' word) for () (hunger), formed by taking the first syllable of ひだるい (hungry) and adding もじ.