白米

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: It is read はくまい. 白 contributes white and 米 rice, forming a word for rice with its bran layer removed.
• Basic usage: In a meal context, it refers to cooked white rice; the example serves it freshly cooked alongside fish.
  • 朝食には炊きたての白米と焼き魚が並んだ。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Rice grain and cooked rice
  • 白米 can name either uncooked rice or rice cooked from it. In 炊きたての白米, the modifier meaning freshly cooked identifies it as cooked rice.