(いね)

いね
noun
rice plant, paddy
1. rice plant
The plant that produces rice grains.
(いね)(みの)
The rice plants bear grain.
(いね)()える
To plant rice.
(いね)()季節(きせつ)だ。
It's rice harvesting season.
Water is needed to grow rice plants.
The rice ears have started to droop.
To improve rice plant varieties.
2. rice paddy, rice crop
Rice as it grows in the field.
The rice plants are swaying in the wind.
(いね)生育(せいいく)順調(じゅんちょう)だ。
The rice crop is growing well.
Rice plants are growing lush and green in the paddy field.
The rice crop was flattened by the typhoon.
In autumn, the rice paddies shine golden and are beautiful.

(いね) refers specifically to the rice plant as it grows in paddy fields. Japanese has distinct words for rice at each stage of processing, and (いね) covers the living plant.

RICE TERMINOLOGY:

  • (いね): rice plant (growing in the field)
  • (もみ): unhulled rice (after harvest)
  • 玄米(げんまい): brown rice (hulled but unpolished)
  • (こめ): rice (white, uncooked grain)
  • (はん): cooked rice, meal

COMMON COMPOUNDS:

  • (いね)()り: rice harvesting
  • 稲穂(いなほ): ear of rice
  • 稲作(いなさく): rice cultivation
  • 水稲(すいとう): wet-paddy rice

CULTURAL NOTE:
Rice cultivation has been central to Japanese culture for millennia. (いね) appears in many place names and is associated with autumn harvest imagery. The drooping 稲穂(いなほ) is a symbol of abundance and humility.