The Chinese Radical: 米


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Meaning
rice    米

Explanation This radical 米 means the rice grain. The rice plant has this radical: 禾

Used in these characters:
HSK 1
to come, to arrive, ever since, next
lái
Top: one 一, bottom: rice 米 (with a long vertical stroke)
Because of one grain of rice I shall come?  
HSK 1
(unboiled) rice, meter (classifier)


Originally an image of the spike of grain, but later mixed with the rice plant 禾 to the present shape.  
HSK 3
feed, material, to expect, to anticipate
liào
Left: rice 米, right: measure of volume 斗(1 Dou = 10 l; stylized ladle with sth. in it)
Rice of a dou is measured: as feed.  
HSK 3
cakes, pastry
gāo
Left: rice 米, right: lamb 羔 (sheep 羊 [here: rising heat 丷 in an oven with three levels 王] with fire 灬)
It's made of rice in a 3-level-oven over the fire: The cake.  
HSK 4
confused, bewilder, crazy about, enthusiast

Left: movement 辶, right: rice 米 (Here: From a central point it radiates into eight directions.)
Who moves in eight directions is confused and bewildered.  
HSK 4
coarse, rough, unfinished, rude, vulgar

Left: rice 米, right: moreover 且 (A pile of stones [= a stone cairn] where moreover stones are added.)
The (grains of) rice that you can pile up, are moreover: too coarse.  
HSK 4
severance, to decide, break, judgment, to cut off
duàn
From left: corner , rice 米, axe 斤
If the rice is in a corner , you can use the axe to decide whether to cut it.  
HSK 4
vitality, energy, essence, sperm, elite
jīng
Left: rice 米, right: young, blue 青 (Growing plants appear in the moonshine 月 blue and young.)
Rice that has been grown under the moon is full of vitality.  
HSK 4
to go on with, to continue, to succeed, to inherit, then

Left: thread 纟/糸, right: angle , rice 米
As long as a thread, we will manage with the rice in the corner to go on with.  
HSK 4
sugar, sweets, candy
táng
广
Left: rice 米, right: Tang dynasty 唐 (In the building 广 the hand with pestle 丨 and mortar 口 during Tang)
You use rice in a building to squeeze it with a pestle 丨 in a hand and a mortar to get: sugar.  
HSK 5
provisions, food, tax paid in grain
liáng
Left: rice 米, right: good 良
The rice is well suited as provisions.  
HSK 5
paste, cream, glue, muddled, scorched
hú, hù, hū
Left: rice 米, right: beard, non-Han-person 胡 (Like old 古 flesh 月/肉 are the beards of the non-Han people.)
You use rice and old bodies (= bone glue) for the paste that is a glue.  
HSK 5
category, type, kind, class, similar
lèi
Top: rice 米, bottom: big 大 (A person 人 with widely spread arms 一 appears: big.)
(For culturing or breeding:) For big rice they made categories and types.  
HSK 5
pickled in wine, rotten, messy, ruined
zāo
Left: rice 米, right: class/group 曹 (The seedlings 由 from the field 田 are tied-up 一 and put into baskets 日 for: classification.)
Rice of the same class is pickled in wine.  
HSK 5
sprout, seedling, vaccine
miáo
Top: plant 艹, below: field 田
(The tiny sprouts look like grass:) The 'grass' on the field are actually the seedlings.  
HSK 5
sticky, glutinous, to adhere
nián, zhān
Left: rice 米, right: divine 占 (crack 卜 in the shell 口 of a turtle used for divination)
Rice is good for divination if it's sticky.  
HSK 5
coarse (in texture), rough
cāo
Left: rice 米, right: to manufacture, build, construct 造 (The movement 辶 announces 告 that sth. shall be built.)
(No joke: Rice was used in the mortar of the Chinese Wall) Rice is suitable for construction, when it is coarse.  
HSK 6
powder, flour, whitewash
fěn
Left: rice 米, right: to divide 分 (... with the sword 刀 in 8 八 pieces)
Rice is divided until it is powder/flour.  
HSK 6
riddle, enigma, puzzle

Left: word 讠/言, right: to astray, bewilder 迷 (Who moves 辶 [from a center] into eight 米 directions is astrayed and perplex.)
The words are astraying in a riddle.  
HSK 6
grain, granule, [small round things]

Left: rice 米, right: to stand 立
Where the rice stands, there is grain.  
HSK 6
to squint, blind (as with dust)
mī, mǐ
Left: eye 目, right: rice 米
The eyes are small as a grain of rice, when squinting.  
HSK 6
congee, gruel, porridge
zhōu
Outside: each bows 弓, inside: rice 米
Use "bowed" (= mashed) rice, to make congee (= rice porridge)  
HSK 6
to rear, to bring up, to raise

Left: leather 革 (Horned 廿 animals have a skin 口 of leather.), right: 匊 (enwrap 勹, rice 米)
The horned animal needs protection (= wrapping) and food (=rice) during rearing.  
HSK 6
pure, unmixed, essence
cuì
Left: rice 米, right: soldier, suddenly 卒 (Between two rotary discs 亠,十 are soldiers 人 [who die] suddenly.)
Rice between two rotary discs is purified.  
no HSK
abyss, deep, profound, to surge up
yuān
Left: water 氵, right: two separators || rice 米
Like water, the rice container 凵 (with open bottom) can be deep (like an abyss).  
no HSK
female unicorn (mythical creature)
lín
鹿
Left: deer 鹿, right: 粦 (rice 米 and opposed 舛 [=two twisted feet, like at: to dance 舞)
The deer, that only eats rice and has upturned feet, is the unicorn.  
no HSK
scales (of fish)
lín
Left: fish 鱼/魚 (... with mouth ⺈, body 田 and tail fin 灬), right: 粦 (rice 米, oppose 舛 [= two twisted feet, like at: to dance 舞])
At the fish is sth. 'rice-shaped' up until the feet 舛 (= fins/flipper) which are the scales.  
no HSK
millet, grain, goose pimples

西
Top: west 覀/西 (sun 日 moves 儿 below the horizon 一 at sunset in the west.), bottom: rice 米
The 'western' rice is: millet.  
no HSK
excrement, manure, dung
fèn
Top: rice 米, bottom: together 共 (Put the plants 艹 on the table together.)
The rice becomes together (with all you eat): excrement.  
no HSK
phosphorus (chemistry), water in rocks
lín
Left: stone 石, right: 粦 (rice 米, opposed 舛 [two twisted feed like at: to dance 舞])
(Think of phosphorus fertilizer) The 'stone' for the rice, that comes into furrows drawn by feet is the: Phosphorus.  
no HSK
chrysanthemum

From top: plant 艹, 匊 (wrap 勹, rice 米)
The plant that is first wrapped and then blossoms like the hanzi for rice 米 is: the chrysanthemum.  
no HSK
Cantonese, Guangdong 广东
yuè
Top: container 口 with a handle 丶 and rice 米, bottom: winding seaweed 丂
Here's the island 口 Hong Kong, which became rich from rice 米, while the rest had only water plants 丂: the district of Canton.  
no HSK
sound to call cat

Left: mouth 口, right: rice 米
(The cats hunt in the rice because there are the mice:) The sound (= what comes out of the mouth) of the rice (= the barn) is a: miaow!  
no HSK
excrements, feces, ear wax, nasal mucus
shǐ
Left: buttocks 尸, right: rice 米
Coming out of the buttocks after (the consumption of) rice, are the: excrements.  
no HSK
seeds

Left: rice 米, right: child 子
The rice has 'children', namely: the seeds.  
no HSK
sorghum
liáng
Top: water 氵and 刅 (double edged 丷 sword 刀), bottom: rice 米
Use water and a double-edged sword and you get this 'rice': sorghum.  
no HSK
dissolved, rice-gruel, wasted

Top: hemp 麻 (The building 广 in the forest 林 is for the hemp), bottom: rice 米
(Fraud at the drug dealer?) As the (ordered) hemp was only rice, he was murdered.  

Radicals are shown here that are similar either in appearance or meaning.

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