Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say Hungry in Spanish: Tener Hambre and Hambriento
Hambriento / Tener Hambre · adjective / verbal phrase · ahm-bree-EN-toh / teh-NEHR AHM-breh
Hungry in Spanish is most naturally expressed with the phrase tener hambre—literally 'to have hunger.' The adjective hambriento exists but sounds formal or literary. For everyday speech, stick with tengo hambre (I'm hungry).
Tener hambre: teh-NEHR AHM-breh. Hambriento: ahm-bree-EN-toh. Remember the h in hambre is always silent in Spanish.
Tengo mucha hambre, ¿podemos comer ya?
I'm very hungry, can we eat now?
Hungry in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for hungry, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| hambriento / tener hambre | hungry | ahm-bree-EN-toh / teh-NEHR AHM-breh | Default, widely understood |
| tener hambre | hungry | most common everyday expression across all regions | |
| hambriento/hambrienta | hungry | adjective form, more literary or emphatic |
How Native Speakers Use Hambriento / Tener Hambre
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Everyday expression
Los niños tienen hambre después del partido de fútbol.
The kids are hungry after the soccer game.
Tener hambre is the go-to construction. The verb tener conjugates to match the subject.
Emphasizing intense hunger
Estoy tan hambriento que me comería un caballo.
I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
Hambriento adds dramatic emphasis. This mirrors the same hyperbolic idiom used in English.
Asking if someone is hungry
¿Tienes hambre o prefieres esperar un rato?
Are you hungry or would you rather wait a bit?
A polite way to check before ordering food or preparing a meal.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Hambriento / Tener Hambre
Using ser/estar instead of tener
Incorrect: Yo soy hambre.
Correct: Yo tengo hambre.
Spanish uses tener (to have) for physical states like hunger, thirst, and cold—not ser or estar. Think of it as 'I have hunger' rather than 'I am hunger.'
Saying 'mucho hambre' instead of 'mucha hambre'
Incorrect: Tengo mucho hambre.
Correct: Tengo mucha hambre.
Hambre is a feminine noun (el hambre takes el for phonetic reasons, but it's still feminine). The adjective must be mucha, not mucho.
Lock in Hungry Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Hambriento / Tener Hambre used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using hambriento / tener hambre in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Tengo mucha hambre, ¿podemos comer ya? while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
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Common Questions About Hungry in Spanish
- Why does Spanish say 'tener hambre' instead of 'estar hambriento'?
- Spanish expresses many physical sensations with tener + noun: tener hambre (hungry), tener sed (thirsty), tener frío (cold), tener sueño (sleepy). This 'to have' construction is simply how the language evolved, and it's the most natural phrasing.
- Is hambriento ever used in normal conversation?
- It appears occasionally for emphasis or in storytelling—'el pueblo hambriento' (the starving town)—but in daily speech, tener hambre is far more common. Using hambriento in casual chat can sound overly dramatic or poetic.
- How do you say 'I'm starving' in Spanish?
- The most common way is 'me muero de hambre' (I'm dying of hunger). You can also say 'tengo un hambre terrible' or 'estoy muerto/muerta de hambre' for a similarly emphatic effect.