Mnemonic
A bull drives its horns straight through a tree trunk, splitting it wide open. Instead of sap, thousands of rice grains pour out like a broken piñata. The tree was secretly a living grain silo — rice spilling everywhere, burying the horns in a white mound.
Additional thoughts
Picture the kanji 米 as a tree with two horn-like strokes piercing through it, scattering rice in all directions. The cross shape of the kanji mirrors the explosive split.Quick recall
Horns pierce a tree, bursting it open to reveal hidden rice.Details
The keyword for 米 is rice. This kanji represents rice, the staple grain that has been central to East Asian agriculture and diet for thousands of years. It can refer to rice in its uncooked, hulled form, as well as to grain or cereals more broadly. In certain contexts, it is also used as an abbreviation for America (米国), derived from an older phonetic usage.
- On'yomi
- べい、まい、めえとる
- Kun'yomi
- こめ、よね