乙

second (in order or quality); strange; stylish; "fishhook" radical

Kanji 1041

A kanji with a dizzying array of meanings, 乙 enables you to sequence items or rank them by quality. It also has definitions related to music, inventive tastes, young women, wit, astrology, and proofreading! This kanji cuts a fine form with its distinctive one-stroke swoosh, which is apt, as it can mean “stylish.” On top of that, the “fishhook” radical 乙 appears in several Joyo kanji.

Revision history:

June 12, 2021:

• p. 2: Updated the Henshall etymology.
• pp. 10 and 11: Updated the Henshall etymologies of 乳, 乱, 乾, 乞, 札, 宅, and 託.
• p. 11: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Dec. 16, 2017:

• p. 2: Changed the definition of 乙 (おつ: 2nd (party to an agreement); the B party (e.g., in a contract); the latter) to this: "2nd party (in a legal context); the latter."
• p. 2: Modified the text of the two bulleted points, deleting the parts about teachers.
• p. 4, 2nd sidebar: Revised the text about ranking the quality of food in restaurants.
• p. 10, 1st sidebar: Fixed two broken links and removed another.
• p. 10: Changed the definition of 乱 (989) to “confusion.”

Oct. 31, 2013:

• p. 10: Added the sidebar "Online Jargon."
• p. 11: Fixed a typo in the first line. 

Aug. 21, 2013: p. 10 sidebar: Deleted 3 links to a Flickr account that no longer exists. The photos contained 早乙女.

Aug. 31, 2012: Originally published.