乙 meaning and stroke order
Second of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]; second in order; letter "B" or Roman "II" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc
How to write 乙, stroke by stroke
1 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 乙
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- second of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]
- 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[yi3 fang1], as opposed to 甲方[jia3 fang1])
- ethyl
- bent
- turning stroke (in Chinese characters), aka 折[zhe2]
How 乙 is built
Pictographic character. A swallow.
How to remember 乙
The etymology hint says 乙 is a picture of a swallow. Picture one bent, swooping stroke like a bird's curved body, and remember that a swallow comes second, right after 甲 (jiǎ).
乙 (yǐ) marks second place in a list, much like "B" in English, and it appears most often in 甲方 and 乙方, the first and second parties in a contract. It also shows up in chemistry for "ethyl," as in 乙醇 (yǐchún, ethanol). Example: 乙方负责付款。 (Yǐfāng fùzé fùkuǎn.) The second party is responsible for payment.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 乙 (yǐ) with 己 (jǐ, self) or 已 (yǐ, already), but 乙 is written in a single bent stroke with no separate parts. Also keep the order straight: 甲 is first and 乙 is second, so 乙方 is never the party that hires.
乙 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 乙
Learning 乙 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 乙
How many strokes are in 乙?
乙 is written with 1 stroke. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 乙 mean?
乙 (yǐ) means second of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1]; second in order; letter "B" or Roman "II" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc.
How do you pronounce 乙?
乙 is pronounced yǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
Is 乙 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 乙 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why is 乙 sometimes read zhé?
Read as zhé, 乙 names the turning stroke used in writing Chinese characters, also called 折 (zhé). In everyday words like 乙方 it is always yǐ.
How do 甲, 乙, 丙 work as a ranking system?
They are the first three of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干 (shí tiāngān), and Chinese uses them like A, B, C. For example, grades or categories can be labeled 甲级, 乙级, 丙级 for first, second, and third class.