米

米 U+7C73, 米 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7C73 ← 籲 [U+7C72] CJK Unified Ideographs 籴 → [U+7C74]

⽶ U+2F76, ⽶ KANGXI RADICAL RICE ← ⽵ [U+2F75] Kangxi Radicals ⽷ → [U+2F77]

Stroke order

米 (Kangxi radical 119, 米+0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 火木 (FD), four-corner 9090₄, composition ⿻丷木(GHJKV) or ⿻十⿱丷八(T) or ⿻丷⿻十八(T))

1. Kangxi radical #119, ⽶.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/米
• 侎, 咪, 𪤹, 𫰤, 𢘺, 𢬊, 洣, 𤝸, 迷, 𭥻, 𭩽, 𣧲, 毩, 𤇿, 𤥄, 脒, 眯, 𥒄, 𥞪, 䋛, 詸, 𧵵, 𨀷, 𮠩, 𡲸, 銤, 𩗐, 𩡅, 䱊, 𫜇, 𪌬, 𮮒, 𪓋, 𡅊
• 釆, 冞, 夈, 宩, 屎, 㪰, 㫧, 𭽀, 𥅼, 𥞫, 𥥪, 䍘, 𥭁, 𦊮, 𩂮, 𫡿, 𢊪, 𤌟, 𩭄, 𪀳, 麋, 𮒷
• 𫥾, 𫦨, 敉, 料, 𭩼, 𧊾, 頪, 𪀿, 㐘, 𢘻, 𢍨, 𭫮, 麊, 匊, 氣, 𠩕, 𢈍, 𠤻, 𡇒, 𧗱, 歯

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 906, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 26832
• Dae Jaweon: page 1331, character 28
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3141, character 1
• Unihan data for U+7C73

trad.		米
simp. #		米

Pictogram (象形) – rice kernels.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma-j ~ mej (“rice; paddy”). Cognate with Garo mi (“rice”), Atong (India) mai (“rice”), Jingpho ma (“rice; paddy”), Rabha মাই (mai), Dimasa mai.

米

1. hulled or husked uncooked rice (Classifier: 粒 m c mn; 顆／颗 m)
2. husked seed
3. grain-like things
4. (chiefly Cantonese) Short for 米粉 (mǐfěn, “rice vermicelli”).

   星洲炒米  ―  Xīngzhōu chǎomǐ  ―  Singapore-style noodles

   雪菜火鴨絲炆米 [Cantonese, trad.]
   雪菜火鸭丝炆米 [Cantonese, simp.]

   syut³ coi³ fo² aap³ si¹ man¹ mai⁵ [Jyutping]

   braised rice vermicelli with pickled mustard and shredded roast duck

5. (Cantonese, Shanghainese, slang) money

   有米 [Cantonese]  ―  jau⁵ mai⁵ [Jyutping]  ―  rich

   背米 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁵pe ⁶mi [Wugniu]  ―  to earn money

6. (Shanghainese, slang) ten thousand of a currency designation; ten grand (Classifier: 粒 w)
7. a surname

   米芾  ―  Mǐ Fú  ―  Mi Fu (Song artist)

Short for 米突 (mǐtū), from English metre.

米

1. metre

   米三 [Teochew]  ―  bhi² san¹ [Peng'im]  ―  1.3 metres

   我有一米九高。  ―  Wǒ yǒu yī mǐ jiǔ gāo.  ―  I'm 1.9 metres tall.

   • 2020, “微光”, 唐小奕 (lyrics), 曹楊 (music)‎^[4]performed by 曹楊:

     只是微小的光　照不亮一米的地方 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

     zhǐshì wēixiǎo de guāng, zhào bù liàng yī mǐ de dìfang [Pinyin]

     [I] am just a tiny light; [I] cannot brighten up an area within a metre.

• (unit of length): 丈 (zhàng), 尺 (chǐ), 寸 (cùn), 分 (fēn)

米

1. Only used in 米魯／米鲁.

• “米”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[5], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• “Entry #2599”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

1. rice
2. (ateji) meter
3. (ateji) America
4. (ateji) United States

• Go-on: まい (mai, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: べい (bei, Jōyō)
• Kan’yō-on: め (me)
• Kun: こめ (kome, 米, Jōyō)、めめ (meme, 米)、よね (yone, 米)、メートル (mētoru, 米)
• Nanori: こん (kon)、たから (takara)、めい (mei)

Kanji in this term
米
こめ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

⟨ko₂me₂⟩ → */kəməj/ → /kome/

From Old Japanese. First appears in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE, with the phonetic man'yōgana spelling 渠梅.^[1] In turn, from Proto-Japonic *kəmay.

Many theories exist regarding the ultimate derivation:

• Perhaps from 籠め (​kome), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 籠める (komeru, “do with one's heart”), from the way rice is farmed. The accent of kome in the Heian period is <LL>, while kome- in the Heian period is <L->. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)
• Possibly cognate with Proto-Vietic *kəːm (“cooked rice”), modern cơm. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)
• Possibly cognate with Proto-Austronesian *Semay and Old Chinese 糜 (OC *mral).^[2][3] However, this is extremely speculative; none of the known derivations from Proto-Austronesian *Semay develop initial /k/, nor is this shift explainable by any known mechanism within Japonic.

• (Tokyo) こめ [kòméꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[4][5][6]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞me̞]

米(こめ) • (kome) 

1. rice (husked grains of the Asian rice plant, Oryza sativa), one of the five grains

   Hypernym: 五穀 (gokoku)

• 五(ご)穀(こく) (gokoku, “five grains”): 米(こめ) (kome, “rice”), 麦(むぎ) (mugi, “wheat”), 粟(あわ) (awa, “foxtail millet”), 黍(きび) (kibi, “proso millet”), 豆(まめ) (mame, “soybeans”)

• 飯(いい) (ii, “cooked grains”)
• 稲(イネ) (ine, “rice plant”)
• ご飯(はん) (gohan, “cooked rice”)
• ライス (raisu)

米(こめ) • (Kome) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Kanji in this term
米
よね Grade: 2
kun'yomi

⟨yo₂nai⟩ → */jənai/ → */jəne/ → /jone/

First attested in the Wamyō Ruijushō (938 CE).

Possibly from Proto-Japonic *jənaC- (Vovin, 1998)^[7] and related to 稲 (ine, “rice plant”).

Unknown "-C-" consonantal segment, reconstructed by Vovin, seems unlikely considering [a ~ e] vowel alternation, seen in bound form yona- and free form yone:^[8]

Compare 藍 (awi → ai, “indigo”) from 青 (awo → ao, “blue”) + い (i, emphatic nominative particle(Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?))^[9] against 白い /siroi/ from ⟨siro₁ki₁⟩.^[10]

The colloquial sense is derived from the components of the 米 kanji: 八 (hachi, “eight”) + 十 (jū, “ten”) + 八 (hachi, “eight”).

米(よね) • (yone) 

1. the Asian rice plant, Oryza sativa

   Synonym: 稲 (ine)

2. rice (husked grains of the Asian rice plant, Oryza sativa)
3. (colloquial) an eighty-eight-year-old

   Synonym: 米寿 (beiju)

米(よね) • (Yone) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Kanji in this term
米
めめ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Probably a shortened reduplication of kome (see above). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

First cited to a work from 1275.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [me̞me̞]

米(めめ) • (meme) 

1. (colloquial) rice (husked grains of the rice plant)

Kanji in this term
米
めーとる Grade: 2 (ateji)
kun'yomi

Borrowing from French mètre.^[4]

The use of this kanji is attested in the Meiji period and is an example of ateji (当て字), shortened from Mandarin 米突 (mǐtū), see Chinese section above.

• (Tokyo) メートル [mèétórú] (Heiban – [0])^[4]
• IPA^(key): [me̞ːto̞ɾɯ̟]

米(メートル) • (mētoru) 

1. Rare spelling of メートル (mētoru): metre (SI unit of length)
2. Rare spelling of メーター (mētā): meter (a device or implement used for measurement)

• 瓦(グラム) (guramu, “gram”)
• 立(リットル) (rittoru, “litre”)

Kanji in this term
米
べい Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 米 (MC mejX).

• IPA^(key): [be̞ː]

米(べい) • (bei) ^{←べい (bei)?}

1. rice

   米価(べいか) (beika, “rice price”)

2. Short for アメリカ合衆国／亜米利加合衆国 (Amerika Gasshūkoku, “United States (a country)”).

   米国(べいこく) (Beikoku, “US”)

   日米関係(にちべいかんけい) (Nichi-Bei kankei, “Japan–United States relations”)

3. Short for アメリカ／亜米利加 (Amerika, “the Americas (a region)”).

   南米(なんべい) (Nanbei, “South America”)

From Middle Chinese 米 (MC mejX).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	몡〯 (Yale: myěy)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
	Gloss (hun)	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[6]	ᄡᆞᆯ〮 (Yale: psól)	미〯 (Yale: mǐ)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [mi]
• Phonetic hangul: [미]

Wikisource

米 (eumhun 쌀 미 (ssal mi))

1. hanja form^? of 미 (“rice”) [affix]

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [7]

米 (*-moy?)

1. Apparently a verbal causative suffix; because, since

• This form is attested commonly in the hyangga poems of the first millennium, but nowhere else.
• In the twentieth century, this was conventionally compared to Modern Korean 으매 (-eumae, “because, since”), but this seems impossible given that the modern construction is a grammaticalization of elements not found in Old Korean, and is not attested in Middle Korean.
• Some scholars believe it is a mere orthographic variant of 㢱 (*-mye, connective suffix).

• 이용 (Yi-Yong) (1999) 연결 어미의 형성에 관한 연구, Seoul City University (PhD), pages 144—146
• 김지오 (Kim Ji-o) (2019) “고대국어 연결어미 연구의 현황과 과제”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu, volume 43, pages 55–87

米: Hán Việt readings: mễ (莫(mạc)禮(lễ)切(thiết))^[1][2]
米: Nôm readings: mễ^[1][2][3][4], mè^[1]

1. chữ Hán form of mễ (“rice grains”).

• 米西基 (Mễ Tây Cơ, “Mexico”)