メートル

• Reading: めーとる
• Romaji: meetoru
• Kanji breakdown: 米 (bei/me) — rice; used as phonetic kanji for 'metre'
• Pronunciation: /meː.to.ɾɯ/

Meaning

Metre; meter. The standard unit of length in the metric system.

A loanword from French 'mètre' used for measuring length and distance. In everyday conversation, shorter distances use メートル while longer ones use キロメートル. The kanji 米 is sometimes seen in formal or official contexts but katakana is the standard writing. Common patterns: 何メートル (how many metres?), 百メートル走 (100-metre dash).

Examples

1. プールは二十五メートルです。 The pool is twenty-five meters long.
2. 百メートル走が得意です。 I'm good at the hundred-meter dash.
3. 学校まで五百メートルぐらいです。 It's about five hundred meters to the school.

Usage Guide

Context: measurement, sports, construction

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From French 'mètre,' derived from Greek metron meaning 'measure.' The kanji 米 was assigned as a phonetic abbreviation during the Meiji era. Adopted alongside the metric system in 1885.

Cultural Context

Era: Meiji

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal