TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
乙
ㄧˇ · yǐ
noun — the second heavenly stem; second (in a series)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
乙形rendered bare — one bent stroke, told two ways
One bent stroke. The old graph carries two tellings: a migrating bird (玄鳥, the swallow) curving through the air, or a young shoot bending as it pushes up through the spring soil. As the second of the heavenly stems, after 甲: 乙等, grade B.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一道彎彎的筆畫——像燕子掠過，也像嫩芽鑽出土。
One curved stroke — a swallow's swerve, or a shoot bending up out of the soil.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)天干第二（乙）— the second heavenly stem常用
→乙等、第二— second, grade B
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension