n.
cooked rice
米饭
Common Usage & Traps
- 吃米饭 — eat cooked rice
- 一碗米饭 — a bowl of cooked rice
- 米饭很好吃 — the cooked rice is delicious
- 来碗米饭 — order a bowl of rice
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吃米吃米饭米 means raw rice grains. 吃米 sounds like chewing uncooked grains; 吃米饭 is the cooked dish.
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一个米饭一碗米饭米饭 is served by bowl or portion. 一个米饭 sounds like one rice object, not a normal serving.
Why can't I say 吃米 when I mean eat rice?
米 is raw rice grain; 米饭 is cooked rice you actually eat.
English rice covers both the raw grain and the cooked dish. Chinese splits them: 米 is the uncooked grain, and 米饭 is the cooked bowl. So 吃米饭 is natural, while 吃米 sounds like chewing raw grains. The line 米饭不是米 is literal: cooked rice is not raw rice. “米饭不是米， 鸡蛋不是蛋， 牛奶不是奶。” (Cooked rice is not raw rice, a chicken egg is not just an egg, and milk is not just milk.) ── [《火车没有火》](/read/train-without-fire#s4)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Raw grain | 米 in a sack: 买米 | 米饭 as the raw grain |
| Cooked dish | 米饭 on the table: 吃米饭 | 吃米 for eating rice |
| Story line | 米饭不是米: cooked rice is not raw rice | Treating 米饭 as just 米 with an extra character |
Does 吃饭 mean eating rice?
吃饭 means eat a meal; 米饭 is the actual cooked rice.
饭 alone often means a meal or food in general. 米饭 points to the specific cooked rice in a bowl. If you want rice, say 我想吃米饭. If you just mean I want to eat, say 我想吃饭. At a restaurant, 来碗米饭 is clear when you want rice.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| General meal | 吃饭 = eat a meal / eat food | 吃饭 = always a bowl of cooked rice |
| Wanting rice | 我想吃米饭 | 我想吃饭 when you specifically want rice |
| Wanting a meal | 我想吃饭 | 我想吃米饭 when you just mean lunch or dinner |
Can you order 一个米饭 at a restaurant?
No. 米饭 comes in bowls or portions, not as a countable one rice.
米饭 is treated like soup or pasta: you count the bowl or portion, not the rice itself. 一碗米饭 means a bowl of rice. 一份米饭 means a portion of rice. 一个米饭 sounds like a single rice object, so native ears reject it. At a restaurant, 来碗米饭 is the clean order.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Counting rice | 一碗米饭 | 一个米饭 |
| Serving size | 一份米饭 | 一个米饭 |
| Restaurant order | 来碗米饭 | 来一个米饭 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Before you read, think about names: a train is called 'fire vehicle' in Chinese, but there's no fire! This simple rhyme will help you laugh while reviewing everyday words.
- Scene #1
米饭 不是米，鸡蛋不是蛋，牛奶不是奶。
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