barley, wheat
麦 centers on cereal grains, specifically barley and wheat, which are staple crops used for food and drink.
麦 is a pictograph of a wheat or barley plant with a stalk and hanging grain head. The modern form retains the plant-like shape with the top 龶 representing the grain head and the bottom 夂 suggesting the stalk and roots.
The top 龶 looks like a grain head with awns, and the bottom 夂 resembles a stalk with roots. Together they form a cereal plant: barley or wheat.
For バク, imagine a farmer backing up a truck full of barley: back -> バク, and the truck is loaded with 麦.
buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
wheat; barley; oat (oats)
wheat
wheat flour
barley tea
barley (Hordeum vulgare)
wheat straw; barley straw
rye (Secale cereale)
malt
straw hat
light brown; golden brown; tan
beer
boiled barley and rice
adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen); Job's tears; coixseed; tear grass; adlai
wheat field; barley field; cornfield
wheat harvest
oat (Avena sativa); oats
soba in soup with slices of boiled fish paste, shiitake mushrooms, greens, seaweed, etc.
soba in hot broth; soba without any trimmings
zaru soba (soba served on a bamboo draining basket with dipping sauce)