Famished? How To Discuss About Being Hungry in Spanish
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The most typical solution to say “I’m hungry” in Spanish is tengo hambre. It’s an amazing expression to be taught for while you wish to expertise the superb food and drinks your Spanish-speaking vacation spot has to supply. Spending time with buddies or as an invited visitor? You’ll need to have the ability to reply the query ¿Tienes hambre? (Are you hungry?) in Spanish.
To make use of this expression successfully, you’ll want the conjugation of the verb tener (to have), which could shock you as you be taught Spanish. Learn the way to let folks know you’re hungry, ask if others are hungry, and reply appropriately while you’ve had sufficient or need some extra.
say ‘I’m hungry’ utilizing tener
In Spanish, you may categorical some emotions with tener (to have) as a substitute of “to be,” which is extra widespread in English. Tengo hambre, translated word-for-word, can be “I’ve starvation.” Utilizing tener on this expression sounds fully pure in Spanish.
- Tengo hambre. = I’m hungry. (I’ve starvation)
- ¿Tienen hambre? = Are you hungry? (Do you all have starvation?)
- Sí. Tenemos hambre. = Sure, we’re hungry. (Sure, now we have starvation)
That will help you speak about anybody’s state of starvation, the whole tener conjugation within the current tense is proven within the desk.
tener (to have) current tense
| yo tengo | I’ve | nosotros tenemos | now we have |
| tú tienes | you’ve (casual) | vosotros tenéis | you’ve (casual plural, Spain solely) |
| él/ella tieneusted tiene | he/she hasyou have (formal) | ellos/ellas tienenustedes tienen | they haveyou have (plural) |
You’ll wish to take care with the Spanish pronunciation of hambre (starvation), because it seems so just like the phrases hombre (man) and hombro (shoulder). Take a little bit of time to follow the distinction between the preliminary vowels and also you’ll by no means confuse them.
- El hombre tiene hambre. The person is hungry.
There are a number of different expressions that use “have” in Spanish as a substitute of “to be,” akin to tengo sed (I’m thirsty).
What to say if you happen to’re not hungry
Think about you’ve been invited to somebody’s dwelling, a gathering, or a social occasion. You might or might not want to settle for a suggestion of meals. You won’t be hungry, otherwise you would possibly wish to politely decline for different causes.
A really simple solution to inform a good friend that you just’re not hungry in Spanish is to easily put no in entrance of the conjugated verb tener, the primary solution to negate many verbs in Spanish.
- ¿Tienes hambre? = Are you hungry?
- No. No tengo hambre. = No, I’m not hungry.
In a proper context, you would possibly wish to reply extra politely or give a purpose.
- ¿Usted tiene hambre? = Are you hungry?
- Comí suficiente. Estoy bien. = I’ve eaten sufficient. I’m wonderful.
- Estoy satisfecho/satisfecha, gracias. = I’m glad/I’ve eaten sufficient, thanks.
- No, gracias. No tengo mucha hambre. = No, thanks. I’m not very hungry.
If one thing seems actually appetizing and you alter your thoughts, or if you happen to’re simply joyful to expertise all the culinary delights of your location, you may all the time strive a bit extra of a dish or counsel grabbing a snack.
- No comí suficiente. Tengo hambre. = I didn’t eat sufficient. I’m hungry.
- De hecho, cambié de thought. Me gustaría probar un poco. = Really, I modified my thoughts. I wish to strive a bit.
As soon as you know the way to say whether or not or not you’re hungry, be taught tips on how to order meals in Spanish so that you just’ll have the very best meal expertise potential, and exhibit your new language expertise.
When to make use of the adjective hambriento
Whereas tener hambre is a quite common and pure solution to categorical that somebody is hungry in Spanish, the adjective hambriento (hungry) can be understandable and customary. You might even have seen it within the Spanish translation of La Oruga Muy Hambrienta (The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Spanish).
Hambriento is an adjective used with estar to specific a sense, and can comply with Spanish grammar guidelines for adjectives by agreeing in gender and quantity with the noun that it’s describing. It may be figurative along with that means “very hungry” or “desirous to eat.”
- Carlos está hambriento de conocimiento. = Carlos is hungry for information.
- Las jugadoras estaban hambrientas de victoria. = The gamers had been hungry for a victory.
The phrase hambriento can be the phrase for “ravenous” when it refers to individuals who actually haven’t gotten sufficient meals to eat. A fair larger diploma of “ravenous” in a literal sense can be famélico.
- Donamos comida a los hambrientos. = We donate meals to the hungry.
- Durante la guerra, había mucha gente famélica. = Through the struggle, there have been many ravenous folks.
Slang and idiomatic methods to say ‘hungry’ in Spanish
Perhaps you don’t wish to wait for somebody to ask “are you hungry?” in Spanish. Maybe it doesn’t really feel like sufficient to say tengo hambre, and also you wish to emphasize that you just’re famished. Vacationers might have to speak when adapting to completely different meal schedules, just like the late dinner in Spain. Check out a number of slang methods to get your level throughout.
| Spanish | English Literal Translation | English Which means |
| Estoy hambreado/hambreada. | I’m hungry. | I’m hungry. (Latin America) |
| ¡Estoy muerto/muerta de hambre! | I’m useless of starvation! | I’m actually hungry. |
| ¡Me comería una vaca! | I’d eat a cow! | I might eat a horse! |
| ¡Me muero de hambre! | I’m dying of starvation! | I’m actually hungry. |
| Quiero algo para picar. | I need one thing to choose. | I need one thing to nibble on. I wish to seize a chew to eat. |
| sentir apetito | to really feel urge for food | To be considerably hungry |
| tener ganas de comer | to really feel like consuming | To wish to eat |
| tener un hambre canina | to have a canine starvation | To be very hungry |
| Tienes cara de hambre. | You could have a face of starvation. | You look hungry. |
| un hambre voraz | a voracious urge for food | a big urge for food |
Sharing meals is an effective way to be taught Spanish
Rosetta Stone has plenty of high quality sources about meals in Spanish as a result of it’s such a enjoyable solution to be taught to speak. Sharing meals can unlock cultural information and genuine dialog round a desk. Meals, the way it’s ready, and the flavors and traditions surrounding meals and celebrations are important to cultural identification.
For those who’re hungry for a meal, say tengo hambre, make a plan, and it could feed your hambre de conocimiento (starvation for information) as properly.

