乙

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See also: 己, 之, Z, and ㇠
乙 U+4E59, 乙
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E59
← 乘
[U+4E58] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 乚 →
[U+4E5A]
⼄ U+2F04, ⼄
KANGXI RADICAL SECOND
← ⼃
[U+2F03] 		Kangxi Radicals ⼅ →
[U+2F05]

Translingual

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Stroke order

Han character

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Stroke order
1 stroke
See images of
Radical 5 乙

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

  1. Kangxi radical #5, ⼄.

Derived characters

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References

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  • 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

Chinese

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Glyph origin

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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
j29982
j29983
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j29996
j29997
j29998
j29999
j30000
j30001
j30002
j30003
j30004
j30005
j30006
j30007
j30008
j30009
j30010
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j30051
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j30053
j30054
j30055
j30056
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j30058
j30059
j30060
j30061
j30062
j30063
j30064
j30065
j30066
j30067
j30068
j30069
j30070
j30071
j30072
b20226
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s10940
Transcribed ancient scripts
L26039
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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).
Characters in the same phonetic series (乙) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
劜 *qreːd
札 *sqriːd
扎 *sqriːd
蚻 *ʔsriːd
紮 *ʔsriːd
軋 *qriːd
圠 *qriːd
穵 *qriːd, *qʷriːd
挖 *qʷriːd
鳦 *qriːd, *qrid
耴 *ŋrid, *teb
乙 *qriɡ
肊 *qrɯɡ

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.

Etymology 1

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simp. and trad.
 乙

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character 乙
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 影 (34)
Final (韻) 質 (49)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 於筆切
Baxter 'it
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/ʔˠiɪt̚/
Pan
Wuyun 		/ʔᵚit̚/
Shao
Rongfen 		/ʔiet̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/ʔjit̚/
Li
Rong 		/ʔjĕt̚/
Wang
Li 		/ĭĕt̚/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/ʔi̯ĕt̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		yi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		jat1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 乙
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		yǐ
Middle
Chinese 		‹ ʔit ›
Old
Chinese 		/*qrət/
English 2nd heavenly stem

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 乙
Reading # 1/1
No. 14921
Phonetic
component 		乙
Rime
group 		質
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		乙
Old
Chinese 		/*qriɡ/
Notes 甲乙字收ɡ尾與燕乙字收d尾小分部有異

Definitions

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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)

Coordinate terms

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Compounds

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Descendants

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  • → Zhuang: iet

Etymology 2

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simp. and trad.
 乙

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

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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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"

Etymology 3

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simp. and trad.
 乙

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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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)

Derived terms

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Etymology 4

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From 笏.

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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乙

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

Japanese

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Kanji

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乙

(Jōyō kanji)

Readings

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Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
乙
おつ
Grade: S
goon

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

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
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

Noun

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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

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
乙
おつ
Grade: S
goon

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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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?
Inflection
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Inflection of 乙
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 乙だろ おつだろ otsu daro
Continuative (連用形) 乙で おつで otsu de
Terminal (終止形) 乙だ おつだ otsu da
Attributive (連体形) 乙な おつな otsu na
Hypothetical (仮定形) 乙なら おつなら otsu nara
Imperative (命令形) 乙であれ おつであれ otsu de are
Key constructions
Informal negative 乙ではない
乙じゃない 		おつではない
おつじゃない 		otsu de wa nai
otsu ja nai
Informal past 乙だった おつだった otsu datta
Informal negative past 乙ではなかった
乙じゃなかった 		おつではなかった
おつじゃなかった 		otsu de wa nakatta
otsu ja nakatta
Formal 乙です おつです otsu desu
Formal negative 乙ではありません
乙じゃありません 		おつではありません
おつじゃありません 		otsu de wa arimasen
otsu ja arimasen
Formal past 乙でした おつでした otsu deshita
Formal negative past 乙ではありませんでした
乙じゃありませんでした 		おつではありませんでした
おつじゃありませんでした 		otsu de wa arimasen deshita
otsu ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive 乙で おつで otsu de
Conditional 乙なら（ば） おつなら（ば） otsu nara (ba)
Provisional 乙だったら おつだったら otsu dattara
Volitional 乙だろう おつだろう otsu darō
Adverbial 乙に おつに otsu ni
Degree 乙さ おつさ otsusa

Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
乙
おつ
Grade: S
goon
Alternative spelling
o2

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).

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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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)
Derived terms
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Etymology 4

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Kanji in this term
乙
きのと
Grade: S
kun'yomi

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

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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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

Etymology 5

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Kanji in this term
乙
おと
Grade: S
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
弟
乙 (oto): the traditional Noh mask for the stock character of a plump, clumsy, but earnest young woman.

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).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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)

Prefix

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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

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  4. ^ “弟・乙”, in 日本国語大辞典‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

Korean

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Hanja

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乙 (eumhun 새 을 (sae eul))

  1. bird

References

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

Middle Korean

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Particle

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乙 (-ol)

  1. idu form? of ᄋᆞᆯ (accusative case marker)

Old Korean

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Etymology 1

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

Phonogram

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乙 (*-r)

  1. A consonantal phonogram denoting coda consonant *-r
Usage notes
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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.

Etymology 2

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Alternative forms

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  • 肹 (*-(u)r, *-hur)

Particle

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乙 (*-(u)r)

  1. Accusative case marker
Usage notes
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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]

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

References

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  1. ^ Alexander Vovin, Old Korean and Proto-Korean *r and *l revisited
  2. ^ 이승재 (Yi Seung-jae) (2000) “차자표기 자료의 격조사 연구”, in Gugeo gungmunhak, volume 127, pages 107—132
  3. ^ 황선엽 (Hwang Seon-yeop) (2008) “삼국유사와 균여전의 향찰 표기자 비교”, in Gugeohak, volume 51, pages 279—311

Vietnamese

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Han character

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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

Compounds

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References

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