Japanese word

玄米

Pronunciation

Romajigenmai

Meaning

  • nounbrown rice

Example

私は玄米を毎日食べます。watashi wa gen mai o mai nichi ta be ma su

I eat brown rice every day.

Illustration for 玄米 (brown rice)

More examples

昼食には玄米を炊きます。chū shoku ni wa gen mai o ta ki ma su

I cook brown rice for lunch.

Core concept

Describes rice that remains close to its harvested form because only the inedible husk is removed, while the bran and germ stay attached.

Common phrases

  • 玄米を食べるgen mai o ta be ru

    eat brown rice

  • 玄米を炊くgen mai o ta ku

    cook brown rice

  • 玄米に替えるgen mai ni ka e ru

    switch to brown rice

Definition in Japanese

精白せず、ぬか層と胚芽を残した米。sei haku se zu nu ka sō to hai ga o noko shi ta kome

Word origin

玄米 (genmai) is a compound of the Sino-Japanese elements 玄 (gen, "deep" or "dark") and 米 (mai, "rice"), reflecting the rice's darker appearance than polished rice.

Usage tips

  • Brown rice generally takes longer to cook than white rice because its bran layer slows the penetration of water and heat.

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