乙

Stroke order

Stroke order

 

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Radical 5 乙

乙 (Kangxi radical 5, 乙+0, 1 stroke, cangjie input 弓山 (NU), four-corner 1771₀)

1. Kangxi radical #5, ⼄.

• Appendix:Chinese radical/乙
• 亿, 𫤾, 𠮙, 𫭖, 𫰆, 𡴭, 𢒼, 忆, 𢩧, 㲸, 𣄻, 𣎷, 𪵖, 肊, 𤓱, 𥘆, 𥝎, 𬖋, 䎲, 𦨇, 𧈝, 𮚲, 𮛁, 𬨖, 釔(钇), 鳦, 𪐘
• 𠫕, 𠮞, 𣄽, 氹, 𢖮, 𧰦, 𫚮, 𪸍, 𠀂, 𠧒, 𡴯, 艺, 𢩥, 朰, 戹, 穵, 𩁶, 𫘸, 𤴥, 𬸺, 𡆠

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 83, character 15
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 161
• Dae Jaweon: page 167, character 7
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 47, character 4
• Unihan data for U+4E59

Historical forms of the character 乙
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script   j29982   j29983   j29984   j29985   j29986   j29987   j29988   j29989   j29990   j29991   j29992   j29993   j29994   j29995   j29996   j29997   j29998   j29999   j30000   j30001   j30002   j30003   j30004   j30005   j30006   j30007   j30008   j30009   j30010   j30011   j30012   j30013   j30014   j30015   j30016   j30017   j30018   j30019   j30020   j30021   j30022   j30023   j30024   j30025   j30026   j30027   j30028   j30029   j30030   j30031   j30032   j30033   j30034   j30035   j30036   j30037   j30038   j30039   j30040   j30041   j30042   j30043   j30044   j30045   j30046   j30047   j30048   j30049   j30050   j30051   j30052   j30053   j30054   j30055   j30056   j30057   j30058   j30059   j30060   j30061   j30062   j30063   j30064   j30065   j30066   j30067   j30068   j30069   j30070   j30071   j30072 Bronze inscriptions   b20226   b20227   b20228   b20229   b20230   b20231   b20232   b20233   b20234   b20235   b20236   b20237   b20238   b20239   b20240   b20241   b20242   b20243   b20244   b20245   b20246   b20247   b20248   b20249   b20250   b20251   b20252   b20253   b20254   b20255   b20256   b20257   b20258   b20259   b20260   b20261   b20262   b20263 Small seal script   s10940 Transcribed ancient scripts   L26039   L26040   L26041   L26042   L26043   L26044   L26045   L26046   L26047   L26048   L26049
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Unknown. Different ancient texts propose different origins.

• Pictogram (象形) – a developing plant (Shuowen).
• Pictogram (象形) – the intestine of a fish (Erya).
• Pictogram (象形) – the gill bone of a fish (Liji Zhengyi (《禮記正義》)

The character should not be confused with 𠃉 > 鳦.

乙

1. The second of the ten heavenly stems (天干 (tiāngān))
2. second; 2; B; II; beta (used for unnamed people or objects, to enumerate headings in a list, for grades, etc.)

   路人甲和路人乙  ―  lùrén jiǎ hé lùrén yǐ  ―  passerby A and passerby B

   他法語成績得了乙。 [MSC, trad.]
   他法语成绩得了乙。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā fǎyǔ chéngjì dé le yǐ. [Pinyin]

   He got a B in French.

   乙肝  ―  yǐgān  ―  hepatitis B

3. (chemistry) eth-; ethyl

   乙烷  ―  yǐwán  ―  ethane

4. (literary, formal) one

   （公文）……加乙份。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]

   (gōngwén)...... Jiā yǐ fèn. [Pinyin]

   (In official letters) …added one copy.

5. a surname
6. (Cantonese) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}. (Classifier: 隻／只 c)
   • 2023, 5m30s from the start, in 笑满岭南七十载：专访第三届广东文艺终身成就奖获得者黄俊英‎^[2]:

     噉我52年入去珠江粵劇團嘅時候，一隻乙噉㗎咋喎。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     噉我52年入去珠江粤剧团嘅时候，一只乙噉㗎咋㖞。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     gam² ngo⁵ ng⁵ ji⁶ nin⁴ jap⁶ heoi³ zyu¹ gong¹ jyut⁶ kek⁶ tyun⁴ ge³ si⁴ hau⁶, jat¹ zek³ jyut³ gam² gaa³ zaa³ wo³. [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

• (Chinese heavenly stems) 天干 (tiāngān); 甲 (jiǎ), 乙 (yǐ), 丙 (bǐng), 丁 (dīng), 戊 (wù), 己 (jǐ), 庚 (gēng), 辛 (xīn), 壬 (rén), 癸 (guǐ) ^{(Category: zh:Chinese heavenly stems)}

• → Zhuang: iet

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 乙(おつ) (otsu).

乙

1. (ACG, sometimes sarcastic) thank you for the hard work in (doing something)

   自演乙  ―  zìyǎn yǐ  ―  (sarcastically) thank you for your hard work in staging this "drama"

乙

1. (music) Kunqu gongche notation for the note ti (7).

   Synonym: 𢒼 (yǐ) (Cantonese opera)

2. (music) Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note low ti (7̣).

   Synonym: 一 (Kunqu)

From 笏.

乙

1. (Cantonese) Only used in 山雞乙／山鸡乙. (a place in Hong Kong)

(Jōyō kanji)

• Go-on: おつ (otsu, Jōyō)、おち (ochi)
• Kan-on: いつ (itsu)
• Kun: きのと (kinoto, 乙)、おと (oto, 乙)、かなでる (kanaderu, 乙でる)、めり (meri)

Originally from Middle Chinese 乙 (MC 'it), arising from the proper noun sense. Appears in texts from at least 833 CE.^[1]

• (Tokyo) おつ [óꜜtsù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [o̞t͡sɨ]

 

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

乙

Wikipedia ^ja

乙(おつ) • (Otsu) 

1. the second of the ten Celestial Stems

   Hypernyms: 天干 (tenkan), 十干 (jikkan)

   Coordinate terms: 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸

乙(おつ) • (otsu) 

1. something B
   1. the second item of any ordered list
   2. (music) one tone lower than the note indicated by 甲 (kō, “something A”)
   3. (by extension from the musical sense) a lower, sonorous and moving sound or tone
   4. (noh theater) in noh musical accompaniment, a specific kind of muffled drum beat played by striking the head of the taiko drum and keeping the mallet pressed against the head
2. (Kansai dialect, slang) a stupid person, someone who is slow on the uptake
3. (rare, possibly archaic) the state or circumstances of a thing
4. (rare, possibly archaic) dressing up in an odd fashion

By extension from the moving tone noun sense. Appears in texts from the late Edo period, in the early 1800s.^[1]

• (Tokyo) おつ [òtsú] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [o̞t͡sɨ]

乙(おつ) • (otsu) -na (adnominal 乙(おつ)な (otsu na), adverbial 乙(おつ)に (otsu ni))

1. out of the ordinary, strange or unusual in an interesting or stylish way
2. strange, odd, weird
   • :ja:東海道中膝栗毛 (Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige, “Footing It along the Tokaido Road”, or “Shank's Mare”), serial published 1802-1814:

     ヲヤ弥(や)次(じ)さん、おつな手(て)つきをしておめへ何(なに)をする

     Oya Yaji-san, otsu na tetsuki o shite omē nani o suru

     Oy, Yaji, what do you think you're doing with your weird way of using your hands?

Derived as aggressive clipping of お疲れ様です (otsukaresama desu, used as a kind of greeting at work, literally “that's honorable exhaustion (from hard work)”). The use of 乙 for the spelling is an example of phonetic ateji (当て字).

• IPA^(key): [o̞t͡sɨ]

乙(おつ) • (otsu) 

1. (Internet slang) Clipping of お疲れ様です (otsukaresama desu).

   自演(じえん)乙(おつ)

   Jienotsu

   I appreciate your acting (a satire of someone who sock puppeting to praise himself)

• うp乙(おつ) (upotsu), うぽつ (upotsu)

Compound of 木 (Ki, “Wood”, one of the Five Elements) +‎ の (no, attributive marker) +‎ 弟 (oto, “younger brother”).

• (Tokyo) きのと [kìnóꜜtò] (Nakadaka – [2])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [kʲino̞to̞]

乙(きのと) • (Kinoto) 

1. the second of the ten heavenly stems

   Hypernyms: 天干 (tenkan), 十干 (jikkan)

   Coordinate terms: 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸

 

Cognate with the initial oto- in 劣る (otoru, “to be less than; to be younger than”), 落とす (otosu, “to drop something”).^[3][1] Also the first element in 弟 (otōto, “younger brother”).

First attested in the Kojiki of 712.^[4]

This is distinct from the initial oto- in 乙女(おとめ) (otome), which can instead be traced to an earlier woto- root, cognate with 復(を)つ (wotu).

• IPA^(key): [o̞to̞]

乙(おと) • (oto) 

1. [from 712] (archaic) a younger sibling

   Antonym: (older sibling, archaic) 兄 (e)

   Hyponyms: 弟 (otōto, “younger brother”), 妹 (imōto, “younger sister”)

2. [from late 1500s] (archaic) the youngest sibling

   Synonym: 乙子 (otogo)

3. [from late 1500s] (archaic) clipping of 乙娘 (oto musume) a young woman
4. [from late 1500s] (archaic, Noh theater) clipping of 乙御前 (oto goze): a stock character in 狂言 (kyōgen) comic interludes, played as a plump and clumsy but earnest young woman

   Synonyms: おたふく (otafuku), おかめ (okame)

乙(おと) • (oto-) 

1. applied to a noun denoting a person, or to a person's name:
   1. next, younger, youngest
   2. beautiful, beloved, cute, dear

乙 (eumhun 새 을 (sae eul))

1. bird

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

乙 (-ol)

1. idu form^? of ᄋᆞᆯ (accusative case marker)
   • 1395, 高士褧 (Go Sa-gyeong), 金祗 (Kim Ji), 大明律直解 (Daemyeongnyul Jikhae) [Correct Translation of the Great Ming Code]:

     本國乙背叛

     PWON.KWUK-ul POY.PAN

     Betray his native country

From a Late Middle Chinese pronunciation of 乙 (MC 'it), which lenited coda /-t/ to /-r/.^[1]

乙 (*-r)

1. A consonantal phonogram denoting coda consonant *-r

Generally believed to have been pronounced as *-r, based both on internal evidence and the Chinese etymon. Old Korean 尸 (*-l) and 乙 (*-r) both merged unconditionally into *-l in Middle Korean, but the two phonograms were consistently distinguished in Old Korean until the late thirteenth century. Because Old Korean reconstructions are conventionally romanized using their Middle Korean reflex, the phonologically erroneous reconstruction *-l is often used as a shorthand.

• 肹 (*-(u)r, *-hur)

乙 (*-(u)r)

1. Accusative case marker
   • 1120, King Yejong of Goryeo, “悼二將歌 (Doijang-ga)”, in 平山申氏系譜 (Pyeongsan Sin-ssi Gyebo) [Genealogy of the Pyeongsan Sin descent group]:

     主乙完乎白乎心聞

     *NIRIM-ur WOPOL-wo-SOLP-wo(n) MOSOm-on

     as for the heart that admired his lord

In Middle and Modern Korean, the allomorph taken by the accusative marker after a vowel may be 를 (-reul) instead of ㄹ (-l), especially in formal speech. This is the result of reduplication of the particle and is unlikely to have been present in Old Korean, although the phonologically opaque nature of the orthography makes it difficult to tell for sure.

In "Middle Old Korean", the late first-millennium stage of Korean represented by about a dozen mostly eighth-century poems, the accusative particle was consistently written with the phonogram 肹. 乙 has become dominant by the twelve poems of the tenth-century monk Gyunyeo, however, and 肹 is virtually not attested at all by the second millennium. There seems to be no semantic difference involved. Whether this represents a phonetic shift or simply a change in orthographic practice is unknown, although 肹 and 乙 had differing Middle Chinese initials.^[2][3]

• Middle Korean: ᄋᆞᆯ/을 (-(o/u)l, accusative marker)
  • Korean: 을 (-eul, accusative case marker)

乙: Hán Nôm readings: ất, át, ắc, ắt, hắt, ặc, lớt

1. chữ Hán form of Ất (“second of the ten heavenly stems”).

   Hypernyms: 天干, 十干

   Coordinate terms: 甲, 乙, 丙, 丁, 戊, 己, 庚, 辛, 壬, 癸

• Nom Foundation