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粳 denotes non-glutinous, short-grain rice, a staple widely cultivated across East Asia. As a phono-semantic compound, its structure combines the semantic radical 米 (rice) on the left, which places it in the category of grains, with the element 更 on the right, which provides the phonetic guide. The historical pronunciation indicated by 更 has shifted to 'jīng' in modern Mandarin. In agricultural and culinary usage, 粳 specifically refers to the firmer-cooking variety, distinguishing it from sticky glutinous rice represented by characters like 糯.
Etymology Hide
