米

Cantonese · source Jyutpingmai5

Meanings

  1. rice Mandarin classifier: 粒
  2. meter (classifier)
  3. grain-like things
  4. money
  5. a cigarette
About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

maimai1—mai2—mai3—迷mai4to bewilder米mai5rice袂mai6

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

  • 米 Mǐ CC-CEDICT · Mandarinsurname Mi
  • 米 mǐ CC-CEDICT · Mandarinuncooked rice; meter (unit of length); (slang) Chinese yuan

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: mi3. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mai1 · mai5

Cantonese word readings for 米. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. hulled or husked uncooked rice (Classifier: 粒 m c mn; 顆/颗 m)
  2. husked seed
  3. grain-like things
  4. (chiefly Cantonese) short for 米粉 (mǐfěn, “rice vermicelli”)
  5. (Cantonese, Shanghainese, slang; also Douyin algospeak) money
  6. (Shanghainese, slang) ten thousand of a currency designation; ten grand (Classifier: 粒 w)
  7. (Douyin algospeak) yuan (unit of CNY)
  8. a surname
  9. Used in transcription.

character · Etymology 2

  1. metre

character · Etymology 3

  1. only used in 米魯/米鲁

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

CC-Canto · Pleco Inc. · edition 2017-02-02
Source line 31,132 · Original publisher · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edition & transformations

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Mandarin comparison: CC-CEDICT 2026-10-13, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source reading differences and six-tone sets: computed by zimai from Unihan 17.0.0 (Unicode License V3).

Exact source record & identity米 米 [mi3] {mai5} /rice M: 粒lì [粒]/meter (classifier)/grain-like things/money/a cigarette/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: cef5045309b657b723ed7f12b732b01d9cc65d3fbc71fc7185bfa329ca650efb