乙

The Chinese character 乙 (yǐ) is composed of two parts: 丨(gǔn) and 一 (yī). 丨represents a single vertical line, while 一 represents a horizontal line. Together, they form the character 乙, which resembles a person standing with one arm raised.The original meaning of 乙 was "second" or "inferior". This is because it was often used to represent the second son in a family, or the second place in a competition. Over time, the meaning of 乙 has expanded to include other concepts such as "beginning", "start", and "bud".The character 乙 is also used in the Chinese calendar to represent the second of the ten Heavenly Stems. The Heavenly Stems are a system of ten characters that are used to represent the years, months, and days of the Chinese calendar. 乙 is associated with the element wood and the yin principle.In modern Chinese, the character 乙 is still used in its original meaning of "second" or "inferior". However, it is also used in a variety of other contexts, such as in the names of people, places, and things. For example, the city of Shanghai is written as 上海 (shànghǎi), which literally means "above the sea". The character 乙 is also used in the name of the Chinese zodiac sign for the ox, which is written as 丑 (chǒu).