Chinese word

大米

Pronunciation

Pinyindà mǐ

Meaning

  • nounrice

Example

晚饭我们要买点大米。wǎn fàn wǒ men yào mái diǎn dà mǐ

For dinner, we need to buy some rice.

Illustration for 大米 (rice)

More examples

去年大米价格上涨。qù nián dà mǐ jià gé shàng zhǎng

Last year's rice prices went up.

Core concept

A stored staple in the form of loose rice grains, ready to be washed and cooked.

Common phrases

  • 一袋大米yí dài dà mǐ

    a bag of rice

  • 大米价格dà mǐ jià gé

    rice prices

  • 进口大米jìn kǒu dà mǐ

    imported rice

Similar words

米mǐ: Rice grains viewed generally as a staple food.
米饭mǐ fàn: Cooked rice that becomes soft after absorbing water.
生米shēng mǐ: Rice that remains raw and dry before cooking.

Definition in Chinese

指去掉稻谷外壳后、未经烹煮可供储存和烹调的稻米，口语中多用来指生米（白米）。zhǐ qù diào dào gǔ wài ké hòu wèi jīng pēng zhǔ kě gōng chǔ cún hé pēng tiáo de dào mǐ kóu yǔ zhōng duō yòng lái zhǐ shēng mǐ bái mǐ

Word origin

大米 (dàmǐ, "rice") is built from 大 (dà, "big") + 米 (mǐ, "rice"), with 大 serving in the conventional label that contrasts rice with 小米 (xiǎomǐ, "millet"), not literally grading grain size.

Usage tips

  • In shopping talk, this word points to the dry product on the shelf, so it fits requests about buying, storing, washing, or cooking an ingredient rather than ordering a prepared serving.

Other meanings

  • white ricenoun
  • uncooked ricenoun

Word lists with this word