Kilo Lingo

(mǐ fàn) - rice in Mandarin

fàn

Traditional: 米飯

#5547 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

rice

Stroke order

Stroke order for 米

Stroke order for 饭

Examples

I eat rice every day.

Please give me another bowl of rice.

pèi

This dish is meant to be eaten with rice.

The rice is already cooked.

Southerners mainly eat rice, while northerners mainly eat noodles.

米饭 (mǐfàn) is "cooked rice", the plain steamed rice served in a bowl alongside other dishes. 米 (mǐ) is "rice" in its grain form, uncooked or as a crop, and 饭 (fàn) means "cooked food, a meal", so 米饭 (mǐfàn) specifically means rice once it has been cooked and is ready to eat.

It is the default staple across most of southern China, the counterpart to 面条 (miàntiáo), "noodles", which dominates further north, and a bowl of 米饭 (mǐfàn) is what most people picture when someone says 吃饭 (chīfàn), "to eat a meal", even though 饭 (fàn) on its own can mean food in general.

Don't confuse this 饭 (fàn) with the unrelated character 犯 (fàn), "to offend, to commit (a crime)": same pronunciation, completely different meaning and a different character entirely.

Where this fits

Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

米饭: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "米饭" (rice): 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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This word is part of lesson 109.