米

In Japanese, there is a crucial distinction between "kome" (米) and "gohan" (ご飯). "Kome" refers specifically to the raw, uncooked grains of rice. You use "kome" when talking about buying rice at a store, washing it, or storing it in a bin.

Once the rice is cooked, it is almost always referred to as "gohan." Using "kome" to describe a bowl of steamed rice on a table would sound unnatural to a native speaker. Therefore, verbs like "taku" (to cook/steam) are used with "kome" as the object (the raw material), but the result is "gohan."

Additionally, "gohan" has a broader metaphorical meaning referring to "a meal" in general (e.g., "asa-gohan" for breakfast), whereas "kome" is strictly the agricultural product.