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

Meanings

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

Characters

乙

yi

second (heavenly stem); B

Examples

甲方和乙方签了合同。

Jiǎfāng hé yǐfāng qiān le hétong.

Party A and Party B signed the contract.

他的成绩是乙等。

Tā de chéngjì shì yǐ děng.

His grade is B.

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