# 饥不择食

jī bù zé shí

Accept what is available under urgent need

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** When hungry, do not choose the food

**Traditional Chinese:** 飢不擇食

**Register:** Standard · expressive

[Choices & judgment](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/decisions)

## When to use it

Describe desperate need reducing selectiveness.

Can lead to unsafe or unsuitable choices.

## Understanding the expression

Hunger makes available food seem more important than preference. Figuratively, a person in urgent need may accept a job, offer, or solution they would ordinarily reject. The expression explains lowered selectiveness, sometimes critically. Urgency does not remove every boundary: an unsafe option may worsen the situation. The best example shows the pressure and the resulting compromise, rather than assuming that anyone with limited resources has no right to consider quality or safety.

## Examples

他饿得饥不择食，冷饭也吃了。

### Traditional Chinese

他餓得飢不擇食，冷飯也吃了。

tā è dé jī bù zé shí ， lěng fàn yě chī le 。

He was so hungry that he ate even the cold rice without being selective.

急着找工作，她几乎饥不择食。

### Traditional Chinese

急著找工作，她幾乎飢不擇食。

jí zhe zhǎo gōng zuò ， tā jī hū jī bù zé shí 。

Urgent need for work made her almost willing to accept anything.

缺资金也不能饥不择食，接受骗局。

### Traditional Chinese

缺資金也不能飢不擇食，接受騙局。

quē zī jīn yě bù néng jī bù zé shí ， jiē shòu piàn jú 。

Even a funding shortage should not make us accept a scam.

他们饥不择食地买了最便宜的零件。

### Traditional Chinese

他們飢不擇食地買了最便宜的零件。

tā men jī bù zé shí dì mǎi le zuì pián yi de líng jiàn 。

Under pressure, they bought the cheapest parts without considering suitability.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%A3%A2%E4%B8%8D%E6%93%87%E9%A3%9F)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=1034&webMd=1&la=0)

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