飢

A phono-semantic compound:

食 (“food, to eat”) - provides the semantic element;

几 (gi, “table, stool”) - provides the phonetic element.

Common compounds:

飢渴 (기갈) - hunger and thirst;

飢飡 (기찬) - meager meal, poor food;

饑饉 (기근) - famine, dearth (more proper with 饑).

Often used metaphorically for deprivation, need, or desire.

In modern Chinese, the distinction is mostly lost; 饑 is sometimes treated as the “traditional form,” while 飢 functions like its simplified counterpart.

Korean and Japanese texts also often conflate them.

飢 also written as 𩚮, 𩚚.

饑 written as 𩜆, 𩚮.

Distinction from 饑:

飢 (original meaning): “hungry, starving.”

饑 (original meaning): “famine, poor harvest.”

In Middle Chinese phonology (Tangyun, Jiyun), the two had slightly different fanqie spellings and tones. Eventually they merged in pronunciation, leading to confusion and interchangeability.

Classical Sources (from Kangxi Dictionary):

飢:

Defined as “hungry, starving” (餓也).

Cited in Book of Documents (書·舜典): “The people suffered from hunger (黎民阻飢).”

In Erya: “When grain does not ripen, it is called 飢.”

Terms: 一穀不升曰歉, 二穀不升曰飢 — if one crop fails, it is 歉; if two crops fail, it is 飢.

Also used as: name of a state (飢國) conquered by Xibo; and as a surname (飢氏).

饑:

Defined in Shuowen: “When grain does not ripen, it is called 饑.”

Used specifically for “famine.”

Alternative ancient forms: 𩜆, 𩚮.