Several parts combine into one character.

麦 originally pictured the ears and roots of barley or wheat. Intriguingly, 來 (to come) was itself originally a pictograph of barley, and 麥 is that plus a foot (夂) below. One account holds that because barley was a grain that "came" from the western regions, it became entangled with 來 (to come). The traditional form is 麥; the shinjitai and simplified is the reduced 麦.

So the form splits: traditional (ko/en/es) is 麥, shinjitai (ja) and simplified (zh) are 麦.

Korean hanja-sound "maek": 麥酒 (maekju, beer), 麥芽 (maega, malt), 大麥 (daemaek, barley), 小麥 (somaek, wheat), 麥茶 (maekcha, barley tea). Korea uses the traditional 麥.

Mandarin: mài, 4th tone. 小麦 (xiǎomài, wheat), 大麦 (dàmài, barley), 麦子 (màizi, wheat/barley), 麦克风 (màikèfēng, microphone — a transliteration of English).

Japanese: on-reading バク (baku), kun むぎ (mugi). 麦 (mugi, barley), 麦茶 (mugicha, barley tea), 小麦 (komugi, wheat), 麦酒 (read biiru, "beer" — a special reading). Japanese 麦茶 (mugicha) is the quintessential summer drink.

Memory aid: barley with ears and roots — the grain made by adding a foot (夂) to the character that originally meant "to come" (來).