乙 (yǐ): second (of the Heavenly Stems)

Meanings

1 second (of the Heavenly Stems)
2 second in order
3 grade B

Characters

乙

yǐ

second (heavenly stem); B

Examples

HSK 2

他的成绩是乙等。

Tā de chéngjì shì yǐ děng.

His grade is B.

HSK 5

甲方和乙方签了合同。

Jiǎfāng hé yǐfāng qiān le hétong.

Party A and Party B signed the contract.

HSK 7-9

甲乙丙丁是天干的前四个。

Jiǎ yǐ bǐng dīng shì tiān gān de qián sì gè.

Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding are the first four Heavenly Stems.

Tips

culture

天干 (Heavenly Stems) - 甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸 - are used in Chinese calendar systems and as generic labels like A, B, C in English.

usage

In contracts, 甲方 means 'Party A' and 乙方 means 'Party B.' This is standard legal terminology in China.

Components

pictograph

乙 yǐ

second Heavenly Stem; curled shape

A single curling stroke - pictograph of a young sprout pushing crookedly out of the soil, or a fish-hook's bend. As Kangxi radical #5 it heads a family of single-stroke twists: 九 nine, 也 also, 习 to practise. Borrowed early for the second of the ten Heavenly Stems, it now reads as 'B' in grading - 甲乙丙丁 'A-B-C-D'.

Radical

Second Kangxi #5

The 乙 radical, pictographic of a coiled or curving shape. Indexes characters whose body is built from a hooked curve (九, 也, 乱, 乳). Productivity is low, but the slot survives because the curve is hard to classify under any other radical.

Forms

乙 yǐ

Default 5 characters

乛 yǐ

Top 1 characters

乚 yǐ

Right 5 characters