level 1
We have something similar in Korea — except that we say your mouth is bored.
level 2
We have nothing like that in America, yet this Japanese saying and your Korean saying describes me perfectly.
level 2
Bored eating is totally a thing in North America
Source: Am American
level 2
And in Cantonese we say that your mouth is «itchy»
level 2
We have the same expression in Vietnamese!
level 2
In cantonese it’s «your mouth is itchy»
level 2
We have that in Canada too. We call it depression.
level 2
In Sweden we say «Låt maten tysta mun» or «Let food silence mouth» because when you eat you shouldn’t speak too much.
level 2
Don’t you guys also think a fan blowing on you while you sleep will kill you?
level 1
“The meal isnt over when I’m full, the meal is over when i hate myself” — Louie CK
level 2
Ah yes, the only thought mentality when at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Of course, I’ve seen people take a short food-coma nap, who will then wake up and go again.
Or go the toilet for a number 2 to clear up some space to fit another few plates in, or another dessert.
level 2
Then I’ll starve to death, though…
level 2
«The masturbation isn’t over when I pull, the masturbation is over when they remove themselves.» — Also Louie
level 1
I have a bag full of crunchy triangle friends.
level 2
If you told me that was literally the name for Doritos in Japan, I would repeat it without fact checking, and I’m more skeptical than most.
Do you also come up with names for generic kids’ cereals?
level 2
lol. and at the bottom is stimulating cool ranch dust!
level 1
Interesting a culture has this phrase but doesn’t have an obesity epidemic.
Which word to use when you don’t want to eat more food even though you are not full yet, because the food is too oily and fatty.
asked Oct 9, 2014 at 4:34
8
The concept you are asking about is probably not quite expressible in English by a single adjective, but «I’ve lost my appetite» is a phrase you can use to imply that you are not eating any more not because you are full, but rather because you cannot make yourself eat any more.
My other suggestion was applicable when relating the event later (to emotionally uninvolved parties): «I was really hungry, but after the first bite I was already thoroughly disgusted.» However, somewhat more naturally, you’d describe the food rather than yourself, as «disgustingly greasy» or similar.
Note that «greasy» by itself is not necessarily negative by itself: there are some dishes that are delicious only when they are greasy.
answered Oct 9, 2014 at 8:12
AmadanAmadan
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0
You probably want to say that the food is «too rich.» Food is called rich when it has a high amount of fat content to it. This could be greasy food, food with a high dairy content, or other various things. It’s hard to eat very much rich food before your stomach will get upset at the high fat content. Usually if you say that the food is delicious but far too rich, people will understand and let you set it aside, and maybe pick up a salad instead!
rich *adjective**
2.2 (of food) containing a large amount of fat, spices, sugar, etc.
‘My friend really loved it, though it was a little too rich for my tastes.’
— ODO
Lawrence
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answered Jun 9, 2015 at 19:57
You could use the word queasy, an adjective meaning feeling nauseated or close to it: «No, thank you, I am a bit queasy.»
{American Psychological Association (APA):
queasy. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary.}
This question has a cultural component. If you are a guest in someone’s home, it is most polite to say simply, «No, thank you.» or «I do not care for any more.» Talking about the food being unappetizing or referring to your body processes is not considerate of the host or the other diners.
answered Oct 11, 2014 at 2:58
TheresaTheresa
2,51512 silver badges22 bronze badges
- I’ve had enough of hash browns. I am still hungry. I would like to have some brinjal steaks.
- I’ve had too much orange juice. It is irritating my throat. I am still thirsty. I would like to drink some plain water.
- I have practiced too much Bach today. I need to practice some Chopin.
- We have invested too much money in high-risk commodities. What do we do with the rest of the funds? We should invest in high-stability government bonds and stocks.
answered Oct 9, 2014 at 7:06
Blessed GeekBlessed Geek
9,53118 silver badges34 bronze badges
«Only eat when you’re hungry.»
As weight loss advice goes, that little tidbit is pretty hard to argue with. It makes sense. It’s not complicated. Most of us are pretty effective at part of it: getting food when we are hungry. In our modern environment, food is plentiful, to put it lightly. So when we get hungry, eating is not hard!
Now that word «only» is where it gets tricky for most people. Because as soon as they give this a try, they quickly realize that almost all of us want to eat a lot of the time when we are not actually hungry.
Are they crazy? No.
Are they selfish? No.
Are they doomed to carry excess weight? No.
If this is something you’ve felt too, it doesn’t mean anything other than that you have learned to use food to fix things.
Recognizing that food has a lot of uses isn’t silly, we’d say it’s resourceful. Food has varying degrees of efficacy in alleviating boredom, soothing uncomfortable emotions, or providing a pleasant experience. It’s like a Swiss Army knife. Not always the best instrument for the job (have you actually tried to use the can opener?), but better than nothing.
There is obviously a drawback if you choose food for fixing these other things too frequently, as it can make weight loss tough or impossible.
There is nothing «wrong» with eating when you aren’t hungry — it just makes it hard to lose weight. So I understand if you want to do it less, and can share some tips.
For most of my clients, this is predominantly an evening issue. It might also happen on weekends when there is some unstructured time in your day, and it’s certainly also an issue in high stress jobs where food is plentiful and often free. Many bright, capable men and women spend considerable willpower suppressing urges to eat, without fully understanding why on earth they want to eat so often when they clearly aren’t hungry.
The first key to successfully changing your behavior is to change the environment. It’s much easier to think through what you are feeling and consider non-food actions when you aren’t staring into the pantry. So when you’re realizing you are staring into the pantry but know you aren’t actually hungry…first, exit the kitchen.
Next, check in with yourself and assume that you have a valid need or desire at this moment. Most people do not do this, they just focus on trying not to eat.
Finding out what exact thing you are trying to fix will help you make headway in this situation! If you don’t find out what you actually want or need, you might spend an entire evening caught in the tug of war between the Munchies and the Must Not Eats. And even if you don’t give in, the tension never goes away.
Here are 8 of the most common things that aren’t hunger but can increase desire to eat:
- Boredom
- Craving me-time
- Wanting Enjoyment
- Anger
- Sadness
- Worrying
- Loneliness
- Tiredness
For each of these, there are appropriate actions that you can take to feel better. We’ve created a guide below to help you think through the next time you feel the urge to eat but know you aren’t hungry. You don’t have to get stuck in a willpower contest, or focus on trying not to eat; you can get focused on solutions! Now that’s empowering. Here’s a helpful guide.
** If you found this helpful or interesting, please consider sharing it on Facebook **
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.
Table of Contents
Harry
Harry is a native English teacher with over 10 years of experience both online and in face-to-face lessons. With his extensive experience in business, he specialises in Business English lessons but happily teaches ESL students with any English learning needs.
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.
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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
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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#1
Hello everybody,
Is there any principle difference between
I am hungry
and
I want to eat
?
Tnanks
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#2
There could be. Normally, it would follow that you would want to eat because you were hungry. But that might not always be the case. Say, for instance, that you were going to the theatre, and the performance began early and finished late. You might say, «I want to eat at 6pm as, otherwise, I will be hungry by the time the performance finishes.» In other words, you cannot always assume that people want to eat only because they are hungry.
Nunty
Senior Member
Hebrew-US English (bilingual)
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#3
These sentences do not mean the same thing, though they may be used in the same situation at times.
If I am fasting, for example, I might be hungry but choose not to eat. I could say, «I’m hungry but I don’t want to eat».
If I see some really delicious looking food but I just ate a meal and am no longer hungry, I could say, «I’m not hungry but that makes me want to eat!»
Hungry refers to the physical sensation and want to eat, to the desire.