玉米粒 (yù mǐ lì) — corn kernel; kernel of corn

Definition

noun

corn kernelkernel of corn

Measure word · 颗

玉米粒。
Wǒ cóng chāo shì mǎi le yí dài yù mǐ lì.
I bought a bag of corn kernels from the supermarket.
玉米粒。
Zhè xiē yù mǐ lì kě yǐ yòng lái zuò tāng.
These corn kernels can be used to make soup.
玉米粒。
Mā ma bǎ yù mǐ lì fàng zài bīng xiāng lǐ.
Mom put the corn kernels in the fridge.

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.

玉米corn

偏正Modifier + head

玉米 gives corn and 粒 grain, so 玉米粒 names a single corn kernel.

Characters in this word

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

玉 was drawn as a ritual jade piece, or as jade pieces strung together, and was made distinct from 王 by adding a dot.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

米立粒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

Same sound today

粒 pairs 米 (rice) with 立, which gives its pronunciation.