米饭
cooked rice
mǐfàn
What does 米饭 mean?
米饭 (mǐfàn) specifically means COOKED rice — the white rice on a plate or in a bowl, ready to eat. The compound combines 米 (mǐ, uncooked rice grains) with 饭 (fàn, cooked grain food / meal), so the word literally tells you the rice has been cooked. This distinction matters because Chinese splits the rice lifecycle into separate words: 稻 (dào) is rice still growing in the field, 米 (mǐ) is the harvested raw grains you'd buy in a sack, and 米饭 is what arrives at your table.
In northern China and casual contexts people often shorten 米饭 to just 饭, but 饭 alone can also mean 'meal' generically (吃饭 'eat a meal'), so 米饭 is the unambiguous word when you specifically mean rice. In restaurants, 米饭 is the side of plain steamed rice, distinct from 炒饭 (fried rice) or 粥 (congee)
Character breakdown
uncooked rice; rice grain
cooked grain food; meal
Memory hook: 米 (raw rice) + 饭 (cooked meal) = cooked rice. The compound is literal.
Measure word for 米饭
Example sentences
我喜欢吃米饭。
Wǒ xǐhuan chī mǐfàn.
I like to eat rice.
neutral
来一碗米饭。
Lái yì wǎn mǐfàn.
A bowl of rice, please.
spoken
妈妈做了米饭和菜。
Māma zuò le mǐfàn hé cài.
Mom made rice and dishes.
neutral
中国人很爱吃米饭。
Zhōngguó rén hěn ài chī mǐfàn.
Chinese people love to eat rice.
neutral
Common phrases with 米饭
Synonyms
饭 alone can mean 'rice' in context (来一碗饭 'a bowl of rice please') but more generally means 'meal' (吃饭 'eat a meal'). Use 米饭 when you need to be specific that it's rice, not noodles or another staple.
白饭 (literally 'white rice') is common in southern China and Taiwan for plain steamed rice. 米饭 is more standard mainland Mandarin.
Don't confuse 米饭 with
米 alone is UNCOOKED rice grains (买一袋米 'buy a bag of rice'). 米饭 is the cooked version on your plate.
饭 alone usually means 'meal': 吃饭 (eat a meal), 早饭 (breakfast). 米饭 is specifically the rice itself.
面 is noodles / flour-based food, the OTHER staple. In China, north-vs-south stereotype: northerners eat 面, southerners eat 米饭.
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