What does 米 mean in Chinese?

米 (mǐ) means "rice" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 米?

米 is written with 6 strokes, starting from the 米 (rice) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 米?

The radical of 米 is 米 (rice, Kangxi radical #119).

How many strokes does 米 have?

The Chinese character 米 has 6 strokes.

What HSK level is 米?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 米 is a character to recognise at HSK 1.

米 (mǐ): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

米

mǐ

rice

HSK 1 character 6 strokes Radical: 米 (rice)

Quick Answer

米 (mǐ) means "rice" with 6 strokes, radical 米 (rice), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 米 →Animated stroke-order for 米 →

Pronunciation

mǐ

Meaning

Primary: rice

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

The oracle bone form shows grains of rice or millet arranged around a horizontal line, which represented either a stalk or a winnowing frame. Six small dots or strokes depicted scattered grains after threshing. The picture was meant to be read as loose grain, not a growing plant.

Form evolution

In bronze inscriptions the horizontal bar became firmer and the grains settled into four clearly placed dots above and below. Seal script regularised this into a cross with four symmetrical points, which clerical script then straightened into the modern 米 with one horizontal, one vertical, and four diagonal strokes. The modern form preserves the four-grain layout almost unchanged from the seal period.

How the meaning evolved

Originally 米 referred to any hulled cereal grain, including millet, which was the staple of the early Yellow River civilisation before rice became dominant. As rice cultivation spread from the south, the word narrowed to mean uncooked rice specifically. In modern Mandarin it also means the metre as a unit of length, borrowed phonetically from French mètre in the nineteenth century.

Cultural note

The idiom 柴米油盐 (firewood, rice, oil, salt) uses 米 to stand for the basic necessities of daily life, a usage that goes back to Song dynasty household writing. Learners often confuse 米 with 木 because the stroke counts look similar, but 米 has the four diagonal grains while 木 has only two.