玉米麵 / 玉米面
yùmǐmiàn
The English phrase cornmeal can be translated into Mandarin as 玉米麵 / 玉米面 (yùmǐmiàn) or 玉米粉.
Meaning: dried corn milled to a coarse meal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 玉米麵 / 玉米面 | yùmǐmiàn |
| 玉米粉 | yùmifěn |
The term refers to dried corn milled to a coarse meal.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 玉米麵 is composed of 玉米 (yùmǐ) meaning 'corn' and 麵 (miàn) meaning 'flour' or 'noodles'.
Which one should you use?
While 玉米麵 (yùmǐmiàn) emphasizes the texture of flour/meal, the alternative 玉米粉 (yùmǐfěn) uses the character 粉 (fěn) which often implies a finer, powder-like consistency.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Southern China and Hong Kong, the term 粟米粉 may be used for cornmeal.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is yùmǐmiàn.
Did you know?
- The term 玉米 (yùmǐ) literally translates to 'jade rice' because of the golden color of the kernels and the quality of the grain.
- In Northern China, 玉米麵 is the essential ingredient for 玉米面窝窝头, a dense, steamed corn bun that became a symbol of rural survival and frugality during historical food shortages.
- The character 粉 (fěn) in 玉米粉 (yùmǐfěn) is the same character used to describe 'pink' in many contexts.
Examples in context
- 我们需要一些玉米粉来煮玉米糊。We need some cornmeal to cook corn porridge.
- 我想在点心里加一点粟米粉。I want to add some cornmeal in the dim sum.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cornmeal” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
