Japanese symbol for “starvation”
飢餓
きが
Romaji: kiga
starvation; famine; hunger
In Japanese, starvation is 飢餓, read きが (kiga).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n starvation; famine; hunger
Written forms: 飢餓、饑餓. Readings: きが.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “starvation”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 餓死 | がし gashi | (death from) starvation; starving to death |
| 飢え | うえ ue | hunger; starvation |
| 飢え死に | うえじに uejini | (death from) starvation; starving to death |
| 干乾し | ひぼし hiboshi | starvation |
| 餓莩 | がひょう gahyou | starvation; (bodies of) the starved |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 飢え | うえ ue | hunger; starvation |
| 飢饉 | ききん kikin | famine; crop failure |
| 飢える | うえる ueru | to starve; to be famished; to be hungry |
| 飢え死に | うえじに uejini | (death from) starvation; starving to death |
| 飢渇 | きかつ kikatsu | hunger and thirst; starvation |
| 餓死 | がし gashi | (death from) starvation; starving to death |
| 餓鬼 | がき gaki | brat; kid; urchin |
| 餓狼 | がろう garou | hungry wolf |
See also: Chinese symbol for “starvation”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.