玄米（げんまい、genmai）
- brown rice

The Japanese word 玄米, pronounced げんまい (genmai), refers to brown rice. It is a whole grain rice that has only the outermost hull removed, leaving the bran layer intact. This bran layer contains many nutrients, making 玄米 a much more nutritious option compared to white rice, which has the bran and germ removed. 玄米 has a slightly chewy texture and a nutty flavor.

⚫︎私は毎朝、玄米を食べます。 Translation: I eat brown rice every morning. ⚫︎玄米は白米よりも食物繊維が多いです。 Translation: Brown rice has more dietary fiber than white rice. ⚫︎健康のために、ご飯を白米から玄米に変えました。 Translation: I switched from white rice to brown rice for my health.

You would use 玄米 when talking about brown rice, whether you are discussing its health benefits, how you prepare it, or where you buy it. It's a common term in discussions about healthy eating and Japanese cuisine. You can use it in both formal and informal conversations.

玄米 is primarily written using kanji. The reading げんまい uses hiragana. There are no other common ways to write this word or variations in okurigana.

There are no direct synonyms for 玄米 in Japanese, as it specifically refers to brown rice. However, you might use more general terms when talking about rice, such as: ⚫︎ご飯 (ごはん) - cooked rice ⚫︎米 (こめ) - uncooked rice

The antonym of 玄米 would be white rice, which in Japanese is usually referred to as: ⚫︎白米 (はくまい) - white rice

玄米は炊き方が少し難しいですが、慣れれば美味しく食べられます。 ・Translation: Brown rice is a little difficult to cook, but once you get used to it, you can eat it deliciously. ・Explanation: This sentence talks about the cooking process of brown rice.

玄米を食べることで、便秘が改善されました。 ・Translation: My constipation improved by eating brown rice. ・Explanation: This sentence describes a health benefit associated with eating brown rice.

The word 玄米 is formed from two kanji: ⚫︎玄 (げん) - meaning "black," "dark," "mysterious," or "unpolished." In this context, it implies that the grain still retains its outer layer. ⚫︎米 (まい/こめ) - meaning "rice". Together, the characters literally mean "unpolished rice" or "brown rice", referring to the whole grain.