hungry

/ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/

//ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hungry" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hungry” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,307. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,307
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hungry · hungry · English

hungry · rank #3,307 · 10 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,307
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH horses

Nearest frequency peer: horses (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hungry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hungry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hungry vs hurry
67% similar
hungry vs hunky
67% similar
hungry vs hung
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hungry
PropertyValue
Headwordhungry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,307
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hungry”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).hungrylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “horses” (#3,306), “informed” (#3,308), “gross” (#3,305). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hungry” is #3,307. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around hungry (IPA /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #3,307 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for hungry, with forms such as "hhungry", "hnugry", and "hugnry". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "hurry", "hunky", "hung", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hungry, from Old English hungriġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hungrug, from Proto-Germanic *hungrugaz (“hungry”); equivalent to hunger + -y. Cognate with West Frisian hongerich (“hungry”), Dutch hongerig (“hungry”), German hungrig (“hungry… The correct English form is hungry, spelled H-U-N-G-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
  2. 2
    Causing hunger.
  3. 3
    Eager; having an avid desire or appetite for something.
  4. 4
    Not rich or fertile; poor; barren; starved.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hungry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. My kids go to bed hungry every night because I haven’t got much money for food.
  2. He was so hungry he could eat two burgers.

Etymology

From Middle English hungry, from Old English hungriġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hungrug, from Proto-Germanic *hungrugaz (“hungry”); equivalent to hunger + -y. Cognate with West Frisian hongerich (“hungry”), Dutch hongerig (“hungry”), German hungrig (“hungry”), Swedish hungrig (“hungry”), Icelandic hungraður (“hungry”).

Synonyms

gauntedhungerfulhungry

Antonyms

fullgorgednonhungryunhungrysatedsatiatedstuffed

This word in other languages

hambriento(Español)affamé(Français)hungrig(Deutsch)faminto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhungry
  • hnugry
  • hugnry
  • hunggry
  • hungrry
  • hungryy
  • hungyr
  • hunngry
  • hunrgy
  • uhngry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hungry - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hhungry1hnugry2hugnry2hunggry1hungrry1hungryy1hungyr2hunngry1
Edit distance from "hungry"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hungry"?
"hungry" is spelled H-U-N-G-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/.
What does "hungry" mean?
As an adjective, "hungry" means: Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
What words are commonly confused with "hungry"?
"hungry" is commonly confused with "hurry", "hunky", "hung". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hungry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hungry" is /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hungry"?
From Middle English hungry, from Old English hungriġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hungrug, from Proto-Germanic *hungrugaz (“hungry”); equivalent to hunger + -y. Cognate with West Frisian hongerich (“hungry”), Dutch hongerig (“hungry”), German hungri... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hungry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

horses#3,306formal#3,300finals#3,298palace#3,320

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

innocent10 variantsformula10 variantscompare10 variantsanxiety10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list