Meaning
水稻 refers to rice as a crop plant, specifically the rice plant that grows in flooded fields (paddies). This term emphasizes the living plant itself, distinguishing it from 米 (the grain after harvesting) and 稻子 (a more colloquial term for the rice plant). It's commonly used in agricultural, scientific, and formal contexts when discussing rice cultivation.
Usage
水稻 is typically used in agricultural, academic, or news contexts when discussing rice farming, cultivation methods, or crop yields. In everyday conversation, people are more likely to use 稻子 for the plant or simply 米 for rice as food. The term often appears in compound words related to rice agriculture.
Examples
- 01中国南方的农民主要种植水稻。.Farmers in southern China mainly grow rice.
- 02袁隆平培育的杂交水稻大大提高了粮食产量。.The hybrid rice developed by Yuan Longping greatly increased grain yields.
Characters
Measure words
- 株一株水稻
- 亩三亩水稻
Common collocations
- 种水稻to grow rice
- 水稻种植rice cultivation
- 水稻产量rice yield
- 杂交水稻hybrid rice
Origin
The compound literally means 'water rice,' reflecting the fact that rice paddies are flooded with water during much of the growing season, distinguishing wet rice cultivation from dryland crops.