How to Write 米 (mǐ) — Meaning “Rice (husked); meter”

Think of 米 as a plus sign (+) with four dots around it, like four grains of rice attached to a central grain. You can also imagine the character looks like a wooden cross (十) with rice scattered on it.

Start with the two dots on the left side, then write the horizontal line, then the vertical line crossing it, and finish with the left-falling stroke and right-falling stroke. Make sure the vertical line is straight and the two diagonal strokes are balanced on both sides.

米饭 (mǐ fàn) means cooked rice and is used when referring to the staple food in a meal. 厘米 (lí mǐ) means centimeter, used for measurements. 大米 (dà mǐ) means raw rice grains, often used when buying rice at a store.

米 is used daily when talking about food, especially rice, which is a staple in Chinese cuisine. It also appears in measurements like 厘米 (centimeter) and in units of area like 平方米 (square meter). Culturally, rice symbolizes prosperity and is central to many Chinese festivals and meals.

Common words containing 米 include: 米饭 (mǐ fàn) — Cooked rice; 厘米 (lí mǐ) — centimeter; 大米 (dà mǐ) — Rice.