麦

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 麦, read むぎ, and it is a broad noun for closely related cereal crops including barley and wheat.
• Basic usage: 麦 refers according to context to a cereal crop such as barley growing in a field or wheat milled into flour for bread.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A grain category not fixed to one crop
  • Both examples use the form 麦. The spring field is understood as barley and the crop ground for bread as wheat, so context determines the specific grain.
• Green spring barley and harvested wheat made into bread
  • 春になると畑の麦が青々と伸びる。 — The grain in the field grows lush and green in spring.
  • 収穫した麦を粉にしてパンを焼いた。 — We ground the harvested wheat into flour and baked bread.