Meaning
The kanji 米 has two meanings that seem completely unrelated: rice and America. Both show up constantly in everyday Japanese — on supermarket labels, in news headlines, and in diplomatic writing. Learn this character well and you'll recognize it in all three contexts.
米 is a pictograph — the written form depicts a physical object. Six strokes form a stylized rice plant seen from above. The central vertical line is the stalk. A horizontal stroke crosses the middle. Four diagonal lines radiate outward, like grains of rice or the ears of a plant bending under its own weight.
The America meaning arrived through phonetic borrowing. When Japanese writers first needed to render Amerika (アメリカ) in Chinese characters, they chose 米 for its bei sound — close enough to the "me" in America. The shorthand stuck. Today 米 is standard in formal written compounds: 日米 (Japan-US), 欧米 (the Western world), 米軍 (US military).
米 is a Grade 2 kanji with 6 strokes. It serves as its own radical (米部), appearing in more complex characters related to grains and food.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
On'yomi readings appear in compound words (熟語, jukugo). 米 has two: ベイ and マイ.
ベイ (BEI) — The dominant reading. Used in both rice-related words and — far more often at N3 — in compounds about America and US relations.
- 米国 (beikoku) — the United States (formal written term)
- 日米 (nichibei) — Japan-US (trade, diplomacy)
- 欧米 (ōbei) — Europe and America; the Western world
マイ (MAI) — Found in rice-related vocabulary, especially words about milling and grain quality.
- 精米 (seimai) — polished rice; the milling process
- 白米 (hakumai) — white rice (Japan's daily staple)
- 玄米 (genmai) — brown rice; unpolished and higher in nutrients
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
Kun'yomi are native Japanese words assigned to this character by shared meaning.
こめ (kome) — The everyday word for uncooked rice. This is what you say at the supermarket or in the kitchen.
- 米粒 (kome-tsubu) — a grain of rice
- 米作 (kome-zukuri) — rice cultivation; growing rice
- 新米 (shinmai) — new-harvest rice; figuratively, a newcomer or rookie
よね (yone) — An older reading, rarely used in conversation. Found mainly in literary texts and proper nouns.
- 米 (yone) — rice (archaic/literary)
- Survives in place names: 米子 (Yonago, a city in Tottori Prefecture)
Common Words & Compounds
Food and Agriculture
- 白米 (hakumai) — white rice; the kind eaten daily across Japan
- 玄米 (genmai) — brown rice; less processed, richer in fiber
- 新米 (shinmai) — freshly harvested rice; also a newcomer or rookie
- 精米 (seimai) — milled rice; the polishing process that produces white rice
- 米粉 (komeko) — rice flour; used in gluten-free cooking and traditional Japanese sweets
- 米作 (komezukuri) — rice farming
- 米粒 (kometsubu) — a grain of rice
Geographic and Political
- 米国 (beikoku) — the United States (formal)
- 日米 (nichibei) — Japan-US
- 欧米 (ōbei) — Europe and America; the West
- 南米 (nanbei) — South America
- 北米 (hokubei) — North America
- 中米 (chūbei) — Central America
- 米軍 (beigun) — the US military
Example Sentences
日本人は毎日米を食べます。
Nihonjin wa mainichi kome wo tabemasu.
Japanese people eat rice every day.
新米の社員はまだ仕事に慣れていません。
Shinmai no shain wa mada shigoto ni narete imasen.
The new employee hasn't gotten used to the job yet.
白米より玄米のほうが栄養が多いと言われています。
Hakumai yori genmai no hō ga eiyō ga ōi to iwarete imasu.
Brown rice is said to have more nutrients than white rice.
日米関係はとても重要です。
Nichibei kankei wa totemo jūyō desu.
The Japan-US relationship is very important.
スーパーで米を５キロ買いました。
Sūpā de kome wo go-kiro kaimashita.
I bought 5 kilograms of rice at the supermarket.
米国は世界で最も大きな経済の一つです。
Beikoku wa sekai de mottomo ōkina keizai no hitotsu desu.
The United States is one of the world's largest economies.
精米したての米はとても美味しいです。
Seimai shitate no kome wa totemo oishii desu.
Freshly milled rice tastes wonderful.
彼は南米から来た留学生です。
Kare wa nanbei kara kita ryūgakusei desu.
He is an international student from South America.
米粉を使ったパンはグルテンフリーなので人気があります。
Komeko wo tsukatta pan wa guruten furī nanode ninki ga arimasu.
Bread made with rice flour is popular because it's gluten-free.
Memory Tip
Picture 米 as a rice plant seen from directly above. The vertical line is the stalk. The horizontal line is the ground. Four diagonal lines radiate outward — grains spreading in every direction.
For the "America" meaning: Japan borrowed 米 for the me sound in Amerika. One shortcut to remember both: rice feeds Japan; America trades with Japan. One character, two kinds of sustenance.