粒
つぶ · tsubu · JLPT N2 · noun
grain
🌾 米 (rice) + 立 (stand): a single rice grain that stands on its own
米 means rice, and 立 adds the sound りゅう. Together they name one small, hard grain, which is what つぶ refers to in everyday speech.
粒 — rice 米 + stand 立 (phonetic)
粒 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 米 (rice) gives the meaning, pointing to small grains, while 立 on the right supplies the sound 'lì'. From 'grain of rice' the meaning broadened to any small particle or granule.