DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

乙

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ#

second of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干 shí tiān gān
second in order
letter "B" or Roman "II" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc
second party (in legal contract, usually 乙方 yǐ fāng, as opposed to 甲方 jiǎ fāng)
ethyl
bent
winding
radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 5)
ancient Chinese compass point: 105°

Mandarin · pinyin zhé#

turning stroke (in Chinese characters), aka 折 zhé

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

乙: yǐ · second; 2nd heavenly stem

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3 · yi3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link44same-tone records3source references

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

乙 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 10 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jyut3 · jyut6

Cantonese word readings for 乙. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

The second of the ten heavenly stems (天干 (tiāngān))
second; 2; B; II; beta (used for unnamed people or objects, to enumerate headings in a list, for grades, etc.)
(organic chemistry) eth-; ethyl
(literary, formal) one
a surname
(Cantonese) (Classifier: 隻／只 c)

character · Etymology 2

(ACG, sometimes sarcastic) thank you for the hard work in (doing something)

character · Etymology 3

(music) Kunqu gongche notation for the note ti (7).
(music) Cantonese opera gongche notation for the note low ti (7̣).

character · Etymology 4

(Cantonese) only used in 山雞乙／山鸡乙 (a place in Hong Kong)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack