Avere fame (to be hungry)

Common Italian collocation

LiterallyTo have hunger
IPA pronunciation/aˈveːre ˈfaːme/
You do NOT sayEssere affamato

Avere fame
To be hungry

Although you could literally translate to be hungry as essere affamato, where affamato is an adjective, in everyday life this expression is rarely used.

Ideally you would say something like sono affamato!, I am hungry!, to emphasize your condition: I *am* hungry (and I need food ASAP). If all you want to do is say you’re hungry, stick to avere fame.

Essere affamato
To be hungry

hungry kid - how do you say to be hungry in italian

Examples

Se hai fame, dovresti mangiare qualcosa.
If you’re hungry, you should eat something.

Ho fame! Cosa c’è per cena stasera?
I’m hungry! What’s for dinner tonight?

La giraffa sembrava molto affamata.
The giraffe looked very hungry.

Molte persone nel mondo vanno a letto affamate ogni sera.
Every night, many people go to bed hungry around the world.

  • avere (to have)
  • fame (hunger)

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