The most common way to say "I'm hungry" in Japanese is: お腹が空いた (Onaka ga suita) This literally means "My stomach is empty" and is widely used in everyday conversation to express hunger. There are other variations with slight differences in formality or emphasis, such as:
- お腹がすきました (Onaka ga sukimashita) — polite/formal form
- 腹が減った (Hara ga hetta) — casual, often masculine
- お腹がぺこぺこ (Onaka ga peko peko) — meaning "I'm starving," used in a cute or playful way
The phrase literally centers on the stomach being empty rather than starting with "I" as the subject, which is typical in Japanese expressions for hunger.
