飢うえに苦くるしむ

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-mu)

suffer from hunger; be tormented by hunger

Describes the state of enduring severe hunger or starvation, often in a dramatic or literary context.

戦せん争そう中ちゅう、多おおくの人ひと々びとが飢うえに苦くるしんだ。
During the war, many people suffered from hunger.
彼かれは長ながい間あいだ食たべ物ものが

なく

、

飢う

え

に

苦くる

しん

で

い

た

。

He had no food for a long time and was tormented by hunger.

Written forms

飢うえに苦くるしむ
Standard kanji spelling; 飢え is the most common way to write 'hunger' in this expression.
餓うえに苦くるしむ
Alternate kanji spelling using 餓え, which also means 'starvation' but is less common than 飢え.

Kanji

飢hungry, starve
苦suffering, trial, worry
餓starve, hungry, thirst

Similar words

飢うえる
飢える is the intransitive verb 'to starve', while 飢えに苦しむ is a set phrase emphasizing the suffering aspect of hunger.
空くう腹ふく
空腹 is a noun/adjective meaning 'empty stomach' or 'hunger' in a more everyday sense, whereas 飢えに苦しむ implies severe, prolonged hunger.

Etymology

Compound of 飢え (ue, 'hunger') + に (ni, particle) + 苦しむ (kurushimu, 'to suffer'). The exact historical derivation is straightforward; the expression is a literal description of suffering from hunger.