Wiktionary

乙

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]

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

Stroke order
 
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 charactersEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • KangXi: 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

ChineseEdit

Glyph originEdit

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).
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 1Edit

simp. and trad.
 乙

PronunciationEdit

Rime
Character 乙
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 影 (34)
Final (韻) 眞 (49)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 於筆切
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

DefinitionsEdit

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。  ―  (gōngwén)...... Jiā yǐ fèn.  ―  (In official letters) …added one copy.
  5. a surname

Coordinate termsEdit

CompoundsEdit

DescendantsEdit

  • → Zhuang: iet

Etymology 2Edit

simp. and trad.
 乙

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

PronunciationEdit

DefinitionsEdit

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 3Edit

simp. and trad.
 乙

PronunciationEdit

DefinitionsEdit

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 (yī) (Kunqu)

Derived termsEdit

Etymology 4Edit

PronunciationEdit

DefinitionsEdit

乙

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

JapaneseEdit

KanjiEdit

乙

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

ReadingsEdit

CompoundsEdit

Compounds

Etymology 1Edit

Kanji in this term
乙
おつ
Grade: S
goon

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

PronunciationEdit

Proper nounEdit

 
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja

乙(おつ) • (Otsu) 

  1. the second of the ten Celestial Stems

NounEdit

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 2Edit

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]

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

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?
InflectionEdit
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 3Edit

Kanji in this term
乙
おつ
Grade: S
goon

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).

PronunciationEdit

InterjectionEdit

乙(おつ) • (otsu) 

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

Etymology 4Edit

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”).

PronunciationEdit

Proper nounEdit

乙(きのと) • (Kinoto) 

  1. the second of the ten heavenly stems

Etymology 5Edit

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]

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

乙(おと) • (oto) 

  1. [from 712] (archaic) a younger sibling
    Hyponyms: 弟 (otōto, “younger brother”), 妹 (imōto, “younger sister”)
    Antonym: (older sibling, archaic) 兄 (e)
  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)

PrefixEdit

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

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  4. ^ “弟・乙”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

KoreanEdit

HanjaEdit

乙 (eumhun 새 을 (sae eul))

  1. bird

ReferencesEdit

  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

Middle KoreanEdit

ParticleEdit

乙 (-ol)

  1. Idu script spelling of ᄋᆞᆯ (-ol, accusative case marker)
    • 1395, 高士褧 (Go Sa-gyeong), 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

Old KoreanEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From a Late Middle Chinese pronunciation of 乙 (MC ʔˠiɪt̚), which lenited coda /-t/ to /-r/.[1]

PhonogramEdit

乙 (*-r)

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

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 2Edit

Alternative formsEdit

  • 肹 (*-(u)r, *-hur)

ParticleEdit

乙 (*-(u)r)

  1. Accusative case marker
Usage notesEdit

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]

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

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Alexander Vovin, Old Korean and Proto-Korean *r and *l revisited
  2. ^ 이승재 (Yi Seung-jae) (2000), “차자표기 자료의 격조사 연구 [A study of case markers in Sinographic sources]”, in Gugeo gungmunhak, volume 127, pages 107—132
  3. ^ 황선엽 (Hwang Seon-yeop) (2008), “삼국유사와 균여전의 향찰 표기자 비교 [A comparison of the orthography of the hyangchal of the Samguk yusa and the Gyunyeo-jeon]”, in Gugeohak, volume 51, pages 279—311

VietnameseEdit

Han characterEdit

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

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

ReferencesEdit

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