米

contributes the sense of husked grain — rice · Kangxi radical 119

contributes the sense of husked grain — rice, millet and things made from or measured like grain

The old graph showed grains of rice scattered on either side of a line, the line being the stalk or ear from which they had been threshed. In the modern shape you can still see it: a vertical and horizontal stroke crossing in the middle, with four small strokes as loose grains dropping away at the corners. It keeps this grain sense in words for kinds of cereal (粱 sorghum, 粢 millet, 粳 japonica rice) and in the sound-borrowed 迷, 眯, 咪. Watch out for characters where the shape only looks like 米 through simplification or graphic wear, as in 类, 娄, 继, 渊 and 奥, where no grain is meant.

米 at a glance

Meaning

contributes the sense of husked grain — rice

Strokes

6

Characters

70

Role

Contributes meaning

Kangxi radical

119

Characters with 米 (61 of 70)

Frequently asked questions