十二支(じゅうにし)

じゅうにし
noun
the twelve zodiac animals; Chinese zodiac
culturetime-general
1. the twelve zodiac animals; Chinese zodiac
The twelve animals of the East Asian zodiac, used to label years, hours, and directions. Each person traditionally has a zodiac sign based on their birth year, which cycles through the twelve animals.
十二支(じゅうにし)は何(なに)ですか。
What's your zodiac sign?
今年(ことし)の十二支(じゅうにし)は龍(たつ)だ。
This year's zodiac sign is the dragon.
年賀状(ねんがじょう)にはその年(とし)の十二支(じゅうにし)の動物(どうぶつ)を描(えが)くことが多(おお)い。
People often draw the zodiac animal of the year on their New Year's cards.

The twelve animals appear in fixed order in any zodiac chart and on every New Year's card season.

THE TWELVE ANIMALS (in order):

  • 子(ね): rat
  • 丑(うし): ox
  • 寅(とら): tiger
  • 卯(う): rabbit
  • 辰(たつ): dragon
  • 巳(み): snake
  • 午(うま): horse
  • 未(ひつじ): sheep
  • 申(さる): monkey
  • 酉(とり): rooster
  • 戌(いぬ): dog
  • 亥(い): boar

Common collocations

Cultural note

Asking someone's 十二支(じゅうにし) is a polite indirect way to estimate their age, since the cycle repeats every twelve years. The animals also traditionally name the hours of the day and the cardinal directions in classical Japanese astronomy.

general
Added 2026.5.14 13:05 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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