Other Words for Hungry in English

Learn other words for hungry in English

In the video lesson below I give you 5 alternative words instead of ‘hungry’. For those of you who prefer reading, please scroll down and read the full transcript below.

And if you want to enrich your English vocabulary with new words, don’t forget to check my other words for difficult lesson.

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Hi there. I’m Harry and welcome back. What I got to talk to you today about is the word hungry and we’re looking at alternative words that mean the same or can be used instead of hungry in English. When we’re talking in British English, we like to use different words. Just to show that we have the knowledge and a good wide vocabulary.

And it’s important when you’re doing exams when you’re writing letters or communicating with people that you don’t use the same word all the time.

Particularly if you’re doing an exam. The examiners like to see and test you to see the breadth of your English vocabulary so it’s really important to have alternative words.

Okay. So we’re talking as I said about the word HUNGRY.

And HUNGRY means you want something to eat.

So I’m sure you’ve all been in that situation where you’ve come home from work, come home from studying in the university or you’ve been playing a football match and you’re really really hungry and you want something to eat. So how do you tell somebody? 

Well, you can just simply say:

Oh God, I’m really hungry. What’s to eat? What’s in the fridge? What’s in the cupboards?

Okay.

It’s a very simple word. 

Or you could say:

I’m feeling hungry. We need something to eat and something to drink.

Other Words for Hungry in English

So the alternative word that we can use instead of HUNGRY is 

famished

So you come home and you say:

Oh look I haven’t eaten for days or it feels like I haven’t eaten for days. I’m famished. What’s to eat? What’s for dinner? What’s in the cupboards?

Okay. Famished – F A M I S H E D

We can also say an expression

I could eat a horse

You often hear this in British English. I could eat a horse.

– Are you hungry?

– Yeah, I could eat a horse.

Meaning I’m really hungry. Yeah I could eat a horse.

You go to the restaurant and it’s one of these all-you-can-eat for ten dollars. Amazing if you go to America, you see lots of these restaurants with a sign or you can eat. Ten dollars breakfast. All-you-can-eat ten dollars. And so you go in so great and really hungry I could a horse. Okay.

Other Words for Hungry in English

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Another word we can use instead of HUNGRY is 

starving

– Are you hungry?

– Yeah, I’m starving.

Meaning I don’t think I’ve eaten for days. In fact, you probably have, but you just have that feeling that I’m starving.

Usually, the young kids and the young school goers or the University students in your house use STARVING

Oh God, I’m starving.

They may have had a really wonderful breakfast and by the time it gets to lunchtime they are starving. Meaning they are very very hungry.

Okay.

my stomach is rumbling

This is another expression to show that you are hungry and you would like something to eat.

Yeah, my stomach’s rumbling.

Meaning it’s making noises, it’s talking to me, it’s telling me that it’s time that I ate.

So MY STOMACH IS RUMBLING

Other Words for Hungry in English

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Or you can simply say

I’m feeling a little peckish

and A LITTLE PECKISH is not meaning you’re absolutely starving but you could eat something. So it’s a little bit more polite.

You go to your friend and you greet her and she greets you and she says:

– Come on in and sit down, I’ll put the kettle on and we’ll have a cup of tea. Would you like something to eat?

– I don’t mind, I’m a little peckish.

It is quite likely that you really are hungry but you just don’t want to seem rude and say:  ‘Yeah, what you’ve got? What’s in the fridge? What’s in the cupboard?’ 

Instead, you say ‘I’m a little peckish’

If you’re going to have something: ‘I can have something with you’. 

Okay. So PECKISH meaning you’re willing to pick pick pick like a bird.

I’m a little peckish, I’ll eat something small but only if you want to have something as well.

Okay.

Other Words for Hungry in English

And then one last expression that we sometimes hear is

my stomach thinks that my throat has been cut

Okay. So this is quite a long  expression but really what it’s saying is I haven’t eaten for so long that my stomach thinks that my throat has been cut.

I haven’t eaten for such a long time. My stomach thinks that my throat has been cut.

Okay. So here are some alternative words instead of HUNGRY in English:

  • starving
  • famished
  • I could eat a horse
  • my stomach is rumbling
  • I’m a little peckish
  • my stomach thinks that my throat has been cut

Okay. So you can use all of those in certain circumstances as a synonym for HUNGRY.

Okay. So enjoy using your English, enjoy eating your food and remember to subscribe to our Channel and join me on www.englishlessonviaskype.com and if you look down on the link below you’ll come across all our wonderful English courses on English grammar that will be really useful for you and you can buy them at very reasonable prices.

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More Information

For more information on English phrasal verbs, English collocations and English idioms, check out the following links:

Difference between ENOUGH and TOO

10 Phrasal Verbs with HOLD

English Idioms about SUMMER

Don’t forget to check out intermediate and advanced English learning materials at Learning English with the BBC.