Japanese symbol for “rice”
米
こめ
Romaji: kome
(husked grains of) rice
In Japanese, rice is 米, read こめ (kome).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n (husked grains of) rice
- n staple (product, etc.); necessity
- n (online) comment
Written forms: 米. Readings: こめ、コメ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “rice”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 米穀 | べいこく beikoku | rice |
| ライス | ライス raisu | rice (esp. when served on a plate) |
| 飯米 | はんまい hanmai | rice |
| お米 | おこめ okome | (husked grains of) rice |
| 糧米 | りょうまい ryoumai | rice (as provisions) |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 米国 | べいこく beikoku | (United States of) America; USA; US |
| 新米 | しんまい shinmai | new rice; first rice crop of the year |
| 全米 | ぜんべい zenbei | all of the United States; the whole of the USA |
| 南米 | なんべい nanbei | South America |
| 白米 | はくまい hakumai | polished rice; (uncooked) white rice |
| 中南米 | ちゅうなんべい chuunanbei | Central and South America |
See also: Chinese symbol for “rice”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.