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大米 (dà mǐ) — husked rice (uncooked rice grains)

Definition

The grain itself — uncooked rice sold in bags. Compared to 米饭 (cooked rice you eat at a meal) and 水稻 (the rice plant in the field), 大米 is the raw ingredient.

noun
husked rice (uncooked rice grains)
Measure word · 斤

Examples

  • 大米。
    Wǒ mǎi le liǎng dài dà mǐ.
    I bought two bags of rice.
  • 大米。
    Zhè zhǒng dà mǐ zhǔ chū lái de fàn hěn hǎo chī.
    The rice cooked from this kind is very tasty.
  • 大米，。
    Zhè zhǒng dà mǐ bǐ nà zhǒng guì, dàn gèng xiāng.
    This kind of rice is more expensive than that kind, but more fragrant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

大dàbig
米mǐrice

大 as big modifies 米 as rice, distinguishing the main grain from smaller kinds.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

米 is a picture of rice kernels without husk, with the horizontal stroke as a bamboo sieve. It is unrelated to similar-looking grain characters.

Open 米 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Grains & Staples

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