你饿了吗？
nǐ è le ma?
In Chinese, the phrase "are you hungry?" is expressed as 你饿了吗？ (nǐ è le ma?)
The phrase is used to ask if someone feels a need to eat food. You can respond to this question by saying 我饿了 to indicate you are hungry, or 我不饿 to state that you are not hungry. You may also simply say 不饿 to indicate you are not hungry.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你饿了吗？ literally translates to "You hungry [aspect marker] [question particle]?"
Which one should you use?
There are several ways to ask this question depending on the desired tone. 你饿吗？ is a simplified, informal version, while 你肚子饿了吗？ is a playful, informal way to ask, literally meaning "Is your stomach hungry?" You can also use the alternative structure 你饿不饿？ to ask the same thing.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To be more polite or respectful when addressing elders or superiors, replace 你 with 您 to get 您饿了吗？ For a highly formal and respectful way to ask someone of higher status, you can use 请问您是否饿了？
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 吗 is added to the end of a declarative sentence to turn it into a yes/no question.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ è le ma?
Did you know?
- In many parts of China, asking 你吃饭了吗？ (Have you eaten?) is used as a common greeting similar to 'How are you?' rather than a literal inquiry about hunger.
- The word 饿 for 'hungry' is visually composed of the character for 'food' 食 on the left and 'each' 各 on the right.
- In high-stakes formal or business settings, instead of asking if someone is hungry, it is much more polite to ask if they 'have time to have a meal' using 有时间一起吃个饭吗?
Examples in context
- 你饿了吗？要不要吃点东西？Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?
- 请问您是否饿了？我可以为您准备些食物。May I ask if you're hungry? I can prepare some food for you.
- 你饿吗？我想去吃点东西。Are you hungry? I want to go eat something.
- 你肚子饿了吗？一起去吃点好吃的吧！Is your stomach hungry? Let's go eat something delicious together!
- 你饿了吗？Nǐ è le ma?Are you hungry?
- 我看你没吃饭，你饿了吗？Wǒ kàn nǐ méi chī fàn, nǐ è le ma?I see you haven't eaten, are you hungry?
Example conversation
Wei and Yuting are walking home from work.
- 伟 Wei雨婷，你饿了吗？Yǔtíng, nǐ è le ma?Yuting, are you hungry?
- 雨婷 Yuting我有一点饿。Wǒ yǒu yīdiǎn è.I am a little hungry.
- 伟 Wei那我们去吃晚饭吧。Nà wǒmen qù chī wǎnfàn ba.Then let's go eat dinner.
- 雨婷 Yuting好的，走吧。Hǎo de, zǒu ba.Okay, let's go.
