渴(kě) - thirsty in Mandarin

渴 (kě) means thirsty. Pair it with 了 (le) to report a change of state - 我渴了 (wǒ kě le), "I have got thirsty" - the same pattern English uses when it says "I'm thirsty now" rather than describing a permanent trait.

渴 (kě) and 饿 (è), "hungry", travel together constantly: 又渴又饿 (yòu kě yòu è), "both thirsty and hungry", is the standard way to report both at once after a long walk or a hard run.

Watch the character next to it: 渴 (kě, water radical, thirsty) is easy to mix up with 喝 (hē, mouth radical, to drink) since they share the same phonetic component on the right. The radical on the left is the giveaway - water for the feeling, mouth for the action.