TSUMUGU · C1 (est.) · 字
饑
ㄐㄧ · jī
noun — famine, a failed harvest
字源 FORM — what the parts do
Food (食), here meaning the grain harvest; 幾 jī carries the whole sound exactly. When the crops don't ripen — 穀不孰 — and there is no grain for anyone: 饑荒, 饑饉, the famine that empties a whole region.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
田裡穀子（食）一顆沒熟，幾（幾）家都斷了糧——饑。
Not a grain (食) in the fields has ripened, several (幾) households out of food — famine.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)饑荒— famine, a failed harvest常用
→饑饉— famine, dearth
⇒饑民— the starving — people struck by famine
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension