‘Cāo mǐ’ literally means ‘coarse rice’ — ‘cāo’ (rough, unrefined) and ‘mǐ’ (rice) together describe rice that has only had the outer husk removed, retaining the nutrient-rich bran and germ layers. Unlike white rice, which is polished to remove these layers, brown rice preserves fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and antioxidants, making it a staple in health-conscious and whole-food diets.

This term is used specifically in nutritional, culinary, and agricultural contexts to distinguish unpolished rice from refined varieties. It appears on food packaging, diet plans, cooking instructions, and supermarket labels. While ‘mǐ’ alone usually means ‘rice’ generically, adding ‘cāo’ specifies the whole-grain, minimally processed form — emphasizing texture, nutrition, and processing method rather than origin or variety.