(mài) - wheat, barley in Mandarin
màiTraditional: 麥
Translation
wheat, barley
Word origin
The traditional form 麥 sets 來 (lái), itself an old pictograph of a wheat plant with its drooping ears, over 夂 at the foot. The simplified 麦 keeps the ear and stalk and drops the rest.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 麥 (an ear of wheat: 來 over 夂)
Stroke order
麦
Examples
。
Everything planted in this plot is wheat.
。
Bread is made from wheat.
。
The farm plants wheat every year.
。
Their breakfast often includes cereal flakes.
粮。
Wheat is the main grain crop in northern China.
麦 (mài) is wheat, and by extension the barley and oats that share a field with it. It is the staple grain of northern China in the way rice is of the south, which is why the noodles, dumpling wrappers and steamed buns of Beijing and Xi'an all trace back to this one character.
In practice you will rarely meet 麦 standing on its own outside farming talk and set phrases. Everyday Chinese prefers 小麦 (xiǎo mài) for the crop, 麦子 (mài zi) for the grain, and 麦片 (mài piàn) for the flakes in a breakfast bowl.
The trap is that 麦 is also a favourite character for foreign sounds, so a beginner meets it first in words that have nothing to do with grain: 麦克风 (mài kè fēng) is a microphone and 麦当劳 (mài dāng láo) is McDonald's. Seeing 麦 does not mean wheat is anywhere in the sentence.
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麦: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "麦" (wheat, barley): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 53.