Rice in Tagalog

Which one to use

Use bigas for uncooked rice, the grains you buy and store: Bumili kami ng bigas sa palengke (We bought rice at the market). Use kanin for cooked rice on the plate: Mainit pa ang kanin (The rice is still warm). Palay is the rice plant growing in the field. At meals, you will be talking about kanin, since that is the rice you will be served and eat.