玄米 Unpolished Rice

Meaning

Primary

Unpolished Rice

Alternative

Brown Rice

Word Type

noun

Explanation

You learned 玄 means "mysterious," but remember how it can also mean "dark"? Well, dark rice is unpolished rice — aka brown rice. At a glance, you might think it's some cool, edgy food that antiheroes eat, but the kanji actually just comes from brown rice being darker in color than white rice.

Reading

げんまい

Explanation

This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You didn't learn this reading for 米 so here's a mnemonic to help you:

The biggest problem when you buy unpolished rice is the mice (まい)! Mice like to eat and sleep in brown rice, so you have to be careful when you buy a bag that you get rid of all the sleeping mice before you try to cook it.

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 玄米〜

  玄米パン

  brown rice bread

  玄米茶

  brown rice tea

  玄米ご飯

  brown rice

  玄米フレーク

  brown rice flakes

• 玄米を〜

  玄米を食べる

  to eat brown rice

  玄米を入れる

  to add brown rice

  玄米を使う

  to use brown rice

  玄米を混ぜる

  to mix brown rice

Context Sentences

玄米は体に良い。

Brown rice is good for your health.

玄米はダイエット中の食事にピッタリです。

Brown rice is perfect for meals while on a diet.

玄米にはビタミンやミネラルが多く含まれています。

Brown rice contains a lot of vitamins and minerals.

Kanji Composition

1. 玄

   げん Mysterious
2. 米

   べい Rice