How to Write 糜 (mí) — Meaning “Gruel”

Imagine a bag made of hemp (麻) full of rice (米) that you cook into a thick gruel. The picture of hemp cloth covering the rice helps link the two parts to the meaning of gruel or porridge.

The top part 麻 has many strokes, so be careful to write the dot, horizontal, and downward strokes in the correct order. The bottom 米 should be centered directly under the 麻 and must not be too small, or the character will look unbalanced.

糜 has the radical 米 plus 麻, meaning gruel or paste. 糅 uses 米 plus 柔 (soft) and means to mix or blend. 糇 uses 米 plus 侯 and refers to dried provisions or grain. Visually, 糜 contains 麻, 糅 contains 柔, and 糇 contains 侯.

糜 is not common in daily speech but appears in words like 肉糜 (minced meat paste) and 糜烂 (eroded or morally corrupt). The word 糜烂 can describe both physical decay and decadent behavior, so it sometimes carries a negative cultural connotation.

Common words containing 糜 include: 肉糜 (ròu mí) — minced meat / meat paste; 糜烂 (mí làn) — Eroded; 粥糜 (zhōu mí) — thick porridge; gruel.