麋

mí

米 + 鹿

Definitions

mí surname Mi

mí moose; river bank

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 鹿 represents the meaning and 米 represents the sound.

Semantic: 鹿 Phonetic: 米

About

麋 is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the semantic radical 鹿 'deer' and the phonetic component 米 'rice'. The 鹿 radical classifies it as a type of deer, and the character specifically refers to a large species, translated as elk or moose, historically identified as Pere David's deer native to river valleys in China. Its meaning is purely zoological; the phonetic 米 was selected for its sound and does not contribute any grain-related meaning.