Origin

This character combines the idea of a child or small thing (子) with a curved or bent shape (乙). The character appears to represent a narrow opening or passage—something small enough that only a child or something tiny could pass through. Over time, this visual idea of a small opening expanded to mean "hole" or "cavity" more generally. The meanings of "very" or "exceedingly" likely developed because something with a hole in it is diminished or penetrated, which may have influenced how the word was used figuratively in Chinese.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).