稻米 (dào mǐ) — rice (the crop or unhusked grain); paddy rice

Definition

noun

rice (the crop or unhusked grain)paddy rice

Measure word · 颗

稻米。
Nóng mín zài tián lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō dào mǐ.
The farmers planted a lot of rice in the fields.
稻米，。
Zhè zhǒng dào mǐ de zhì liàng fēi cháng hǎo, shì hé zuò mǐ fàn.
This type of rice is of very good quality, suitable for making cooked rice.
稻米。
dào mǐ Shì yà zhōu xǔ duō guó jiā de zhǔ yào liáng shi.
Rice is the staple food in many Asian countries.

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.

稻dàorice plant

稻米 joins 稻 (rice plant) and 米 (grain), giving rice as a crop or paddy rice.

Characters in this word

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

禾舀稻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain, cereal, rice

Sound part声符shēngfú

舀

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

稻 uses 禾, the grain plant, to show its meaning, and 舀 for its sound.

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.