米 meaning and stroke order
Uncooked rice; meter (unit of length); (slang) Chinese yuan
How to write 米, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 米
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- uncooked rice
- meter (unit of length)
- (slang) Chinese yuan
How 米 is built
Pictographic character. Grains of rice.
How to remember 米
米 is a picture of grains of rice: the little dots of 丷 above and the matching strokes below scatter around a cross, like rice grains spilling out from a stalk. Think of four grains around a center line and you have uncooked rice.
米 means uncooked rice, and you add 饭 to talk about cooked rice on your plate, as in 米饭 (mǐfàn). It is also the everyday word for meter, so lengths use 米, 厘米 (límǐ) and 毫米 (háomǐ). Example: 他身高一米八。(Tā shēngāo yì mǐ bā.) He is 1.8 meters tall.
Common mistake: Learners often say 米 when ordering rice at a restaurant, but the cooked dish is 米饭 (mǐfàn). 米 alone usually means raw grain in a bag. Also, the shape looks like 木 (mù, tree) with two extra dots, so do not drop the top dots when writing it.
Common words with 米
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 米饭 | mǐfàn | (cooked) rice | HSK 1 |
| 玉米 | yùmǐ | corn; maize | HSK 4 |
| 毫米 | háomǐ | millimeter | HSK 4 |
| 厘米 | límǐ | centimeter | HSK 4 |
| 大米 | dàmǐ | (husked) rice | HSK 6 |
| 平方米 | píngfāngmǐ | square meter | HSK 6 |
| 立方米 | lìfāngmǐ | cubic meter (m³) | HSK 7-9 |
| 爆米花 | bàomǐhuā | puffed rice; popcorn | |
| 埃米 | āimǐ | angstrom (Å) | |
| 小米 | Xiǎomǐ | millet | |
| 埃米尔 | āimǐ'ěr | (loanword) emir; amir | |
| 千米 | qiānmǐ | kilometer | |
| 玉米饼 | yùmǐbǐng | corn cake; Mexican tortilla | |
| 玉米片 | yùmǐpiàn | cornflakes; tortilla chips |
米 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 米
Learning 米 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 米
How many strokes are in 米?
米 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 米 mean?
米 (mǐ) means uncooked rice; meter (unit of length); (slang) Chinese yuan. A common word with it is 米饭 (mǐfàn), meaning "(cooked) rice".
How do you pronounce 米?
米 is pronounced mǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
Is 米 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 米 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why does 米 mean meter?
米 was chosen to write the sound of the French word mètre, because mǐ sounds close to the second syllable. So in measurement words 米 has nothing to do with rice.
What does 一米八 mean in height?
一米八 (yì mǐ bā) is a short way to say 1.8 meters, or 180 cm. Chinese speakers drop the unit for the decimal part, so 一米七五 means 1.75 meters.