Definition

1. Adjective:

   • To be hungry: The primary meaning of "đói" is the physical sensation of needing or wanting to eat food.
   • To be in a state of famine/scarcity: "đói" describes a widespread, severe lack of food affecting a community or region.

2. Adjective (extended usage):

   • To be desperately lacking or craving: Used figuratively to express a strong need or craving for something non-physical, such as sleep, affection, or knowledge.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Tôi đói rồi. (I am hungry.)
  • Năm 1945, nạn đói kinh hoàng đã xảy ra. (In 1945, a terrible famine occurred.)
  • Đứa trẻ đói sự quan tâm của cha mẹ. (The child craves parental attention.)

Advanced Usage

• "đói khát": to be hungry and thirsty; figuratively, to have a burning desire or thirst for something.

  • Anh ấy đói khát tri thức. (He has a thirst for knowledge.)

• "đói meo" / "đói réo": (colloquial) to be extremely hungry, starving.

  • Làm việc cả ngày, bụng tôi đói meo. (Working all day, my stomach is growling with hunger.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nạn đói (n): famine.

  • Nạn đói đe dọa hàng triệu người. (Famine threatens millions of people.)

• Cơn đói (n): a hunger pang, a bout of hunger.

  • Cơn đói cồn cào. (A gnawing hunger pang.)

• Đói kém (n): crop failure leading to famine.

  • Vùng này thường xuyên chịu cảnh đói kém. (This region often suffers from famine due to crop failure.)

Synonyms

• Hungry: needing food.
• Famished: extremely hungry.
• Starving: suffering from extreme hunger.

Related Idioms

• Đói cho sạch, rách cho thơm: (proverb) To remain virtuous and honorable even in poverty and hardship. Literally, "When hungry, stay clean; when ragged, stay fragrant."

  • Dù nghèo nhưng phải sống đúng đạo lý, đói cho sạch, rách cho thơm. (Even if poor, one must live rightly, maintaining honor in hardship.)

• Đói ăn vụng, túng làm càn: (proverb) Necessity can drive people to desperate or immoral acts. Literally, "Hunger leads to stealing, desperation leads to recklessness."

  • Hoàn cảnh khó khăn đôi khi dẫn đến đói ăn vụng, túng làm càn. (Difficult circumstances can sometimes lead people to desperate measures.)

1. tính từ to be hungry
   • nạn đói
     Famine