白はく米まい

also: しらよね · しろごめ

は

く

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Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

polished rice; white rice

Refers to uncooked rice that has been milled to remove the bran, the standard form of rice eaten in Japan.

白はく米まいを炊たく前まえに、水みずに浸ひたしておきます。
Before cooking white rice, I soak it in water.
この地ち域いきでは白はく米まいが主しゅ食しょくです。
In this region, white rice is the staple food.

See all 42 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

白はく米まいを炊たくto cook (polished) rice
毎まい晩ばん、白はく米まいを炊たいて夕ゆう食しょくにしています。
Every night I cook white rice for dinner.
白はく米まいを研とぐto wash/rinse rice before cooking
炊たく前まえに白はく米まいをよく研といでください。
Please rinse the white rice well before cooking it.
白はく米まい〈数かず〉合ごうa certain number of go (traditional units) of polished rice
白はく米まい二に合ごうを炊たいた。
I cooked two go of white rice.

Kanji

白white
米rice, USA, metre

Related words

精せい米まい
精米 usually refers to the act or product of milling rice, while 白米 specifically names the resulting white, polished grain.

Opposites

玄げん米まい
白米 is rice that has been milled to remove the bran, while 玄米 keeps the bran layer intact and is unpolished.

Don't confuse with

無む洗せん米まい
白米 just means ordinary white rice, which still needs to be rinsed before cooking, unlike 無洗米 which is specially processed to skip that step.
籾もみ
籾 is raw, unhulled rice fresh from the field, while 白米 is rice that has been fully milled and polished for eating.

Word family

精せい白はく米まい
polished rice; uncooked white rice

Written forms

白米Usage100%
- はくまい
  Standard kanji spelling with the most common reading.
- しらよね
  Rare alternate reading; may appear in older or poetic contexts.
- しろごめ
  Rare alternate reading; may appear in older or poetic contexts.
しらよね
しろごめ

Etymology

Compound of 白 (white) and 米 (rice), referring to the white appearance of polished rice grains.