丙 (bǐng) · third Heavenly Stem, third (in a series)

Meanings

1 third Heavenly Stem
2 third (in a series)
3 letter C (in a grading sequence)

Characters

丙

bǐng

third Heavenly Stem; C

Examples

HSK 4

丙等成绩不够申请奖学金。

Bǐng děng chéngjì búgòu shēnqǐng jiǎngxuéjīn.

A C-grade is not enough to apply for a scholarship.

HSK 6

丙肝是一种严重的疾病。

Bǐnggān shì yī zhǒng yánzhòng de jíbìng.

Hepatitis C is a serious disease.

HSK 7-9

甲、乙、丙三方签署了协议。

Jiǎ, yǐ, bǐng sān fāng qiānshǔ le xiéyì.

Parties A, B, and C signed the agreement.

Tips

culture

The Heavenly Stems (天干) are an ancient Chinese ordering system: 甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸. In modern Chinese, 甲乙丙 function like A, B, C for ranking, labeling contract parties, and naming diseases (甲肝 = Hepatitis A, 乙肝 = Hepatitis B, 丙肝 = Hepatitis C).

Components

radical

一 yī

one; horizontal stroke

Top horizontal - the indexing radical, used here as a positional cap rather than the number 'one.' Strict etymology says 丙 originally depicted a fish-tail or a low table, but the modern shape splits cleanly into 一 over 内, and the dictionary classes it under radical #1 by its top stroke.

ideograph

内 nèi

inside; inner

Lower 内 - pictures the inside of an enclosure with a 人 figure tucked in. In 丙 it carries no live semantic role; it is the visual residue of an older glyph reshaped by stroke reform. 丙 itself functions as the third of the Heavenly Stems and a sequence marker like 'C' in A-B-C ordering.