Components

乙 means 'second'

Animation / stroke order not available.
Stroke : 1    Radical number: 5    Frequency: 1861   JLPT: N1    Usefulness: 5    Study set: 5-34    Grade: 8   Intermediate lesson: -    Beginner lesson: -   Begins 29 words   Used in 42 words   Used in 750 names   Component in 27 kanji (2 Jōyō)
Jōyō (常用)
On
   オツ
On    イツ
Kun    おと-   きのと
        
the second of the ten heavenly stems
A Joy o' Kanji essay is available for 乙 - click the badge to download
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.
Essay 1041 on 乙 (second (in order or quality); 'fishhook' radical) covers this radical and its variant, 乚, showing how radical 5 unexpectedly appears in (dry up) and (milk). This shape even plays a significant role in one character that represents a number!
𠄌 () hook  
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In the most useful 10,000 words in Japanese, 乙 is used 5 times, read 2 ways.
Across all words in Japanese, 乙 is used 38 times, read 4 ways (with 1 variation). 1 word uses a non-standard reading.
Showing:
オツ : 15 words FIND ALL
1
noun
1. A and B; excellent and good; similarity
2. discrimination; discernment; distinction
(click the word to view an additional 1 meaning, examples and links)
イツ : 3 words FIND ALL
2 0
noun
twenty-second of the sexagenary cycle  (see also: 干支)
(click the word to view an additional 2 readings, examples and links)
イツ (read as いっ) : 1 word FIND ALL
noun
42nd of the sexagenary cycle  (see also: 干支)
(click the word to view an additional 2 readings, examples and links)
きのと : 3 words FIND ALL
2 0
second in rank; second sign of the Chinese calendar
(click the word for examples and links)
おと- (read as おと) : 15 words FIND ALL
0
noun
young female rice planter; young girl
(click the word to view an additional 2 forms, examples and links)
Part of a non-standard reading: 1 word. FIND ALL
1
Most common form: 少女
noun
1. little girl; maiden; young lady; female usually between 7 and 18 years old
2. female between 17 and 20 years old (ritsuryo period)  (archaic)
(click the word to view an additional 3 forms, examples and links)
An additional the second of the ten heavenly stems less common words include 乙 but the reading has not yet been categorized.
Henshall: 1041  Joy o' Kanji : 1041  Key to Kanji:

Cascading kanji view

オツ    #2, second, B; fish hook   
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