虎 | hǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 虎 (Pinyin: hǔ) means “tiger”. The Tiger is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 寅.

According to Wiktionary,

虍 represents the tiger’s head. The torso has disappeared and the legs and the tail have transformed into 人 in the small seal script and later 儿 in the clerical script.

As is the case with 犬, many historical forms of 虎 look more like an animal standing on its tail.

More photos related to tigers, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

申 | shēn

In Mandarin Chinese, 申 (Pinyin: shēn 🔊) has many meanings. As a verb, it can mean “to announce”, “to express”, “to explain”, “to state”, “to request”, “to report”, “to extend”, “to stretch”... As a noun, 申 is the ninth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Monkey (猪) of the Chinese zodiac; the seventh month; the hour of the Monkey (3 pm to 5 pm, “the time when Monkeys are lively”); and the direction 240° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Metal, 金. 申 is also one of the alternative names of Shanghai.

Note that the character 猪 refers to any actual monkey or ape while 申 refers to the zodiac animal. 申 is derived from a pictogram for bolt of lightning, as can be seen in some historical forms of the character. However, it is unclear how lightning is connected to any of the modern meanings.

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猴 | hóu

But enough with barnyard animals, let’s move into more exotic territory. In Mandarin Chinese, 猴 (Pinyin: hóu) means “monkey” or “ape”. The Monkey is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 申.

In her Chinese Calligraphy Sourcebook, Yat-Ming Cathy Ho writes about 猴:

This intelligent character is agile in its movements. The right part of the character has a man on its left with bows and arrows at the bottom of the tree, ready to shoot. The left side often appears in characters relating to animals.

I’m sure that you too have noticed similarity between 猴 and characters for dog (狗) and pig (猪). That’s right, all of them have the radical 犭 (“dog”) on the left! 猪 is a phono-semantic compound of 犭 and phonetic 侯 (hóu).

According to Wikipedia, Chinese polymath Li Shizhen (1518—1593) distinguished eleven varieties of monkeys:

A small one with a short tail is called Hou ([猴] monkey). If it looks like a monkey but has a prominent moustache, then it is called Ju [狙]. If it looks like a monkey but is bigger, then it is Jue [貜]. A monkey that is big, with red eyes and a long tail, is called Yu [禺]. A monkey that is small but has a long tail and an upright nose is called You [狖]. A monkey that is similar to You but is bigger is called Guoran [果然]. A monkey that is similar to You but smaller is called Mengsong [蒙頌]. A monkey that is similar to You but jumps a lot is called Canhu [獑猢]. A monkey that has long arms is called Yuan ([猿] ape). A monkey that is similar to Yuan but has a golden tail is called Rong [狨]. A monkey that is similar to Yuan but bigger, and can eat apes and monkeys, is called Du [獨].

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亥 | hài

In Mandarin Chinese, 亥 (Pinyin: hài 🔊) is the twelfth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Pig (猪) of the Chinese zodiac; the tenth month; the hour of the Pig (9 pm to 11 pm, “the time when Pigs are sleeping sweetly”); and the direction 330° (where 0°/360° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Water, 水.

Note that the character 猪 refers to an actual pig (i.e. any animal of the genus Sus) while 亥 refers to the zodiac animal.

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猪 | zhū

In Mandarin Chinese, 猪 (Pinyin: zhū 🔊) means “pig”, “hog” or “boar”. It is also used figuratively, that is, as an insult. The Pig is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 亥.

猪 is a simplified form of the traditional character 豬 which is a phono-semantic compound of semantic 豕 (“pig”, “boar”) and phonetic 者 (zhě). By some reason, in the simplified form, the semantic component mutated from 豕 (“pig”) to 犭 (“dog”). 猪肉 / 豬肉 (zhūròu 🔊) means “pork”.

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卯 | mǎo

In Mandarin Chinese, 卯 (Pinyin: mǎo) is the fourth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Rabbit (兔) of the Chinese zodiac; the second month; the hour of the Rabbit (5 am to 7 am, “the time when the Jade Rabbit is busy pounding herbal medicine on the Moon”); and the direction 90° (i.e. east). Its associated “fixed element” is Wood, 木. Note that the character 兔 refers to any rabbit or hare while 卯 refers to the “zodiac rabbit”.

According to Wiktionary, it is a “door (門) opened to spring”, while Uncle Hanzi says it is “possibly open gates (open eyes) which open at 5 to 7 AM”. To me, it looks like stylised “GP” (makes me think of Jade Rabbit as a general practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine).

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兔 | tù

In Mandarin Chinese, 兔 (Pinyin: tù 🔊) is a word for “rabbit” or “hare”. The Rabbit is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 卯.

In Chinese folklore, 月兔 (yuètù), “moon rabbit”, is a creature that lives on the Moon, 月 (yuè). According to Wikipedia,

it is often portrayed as a companion of the Moon goddess Chang’e, constantly pounding the elixir of life for her.

So it should come as no surprise that another, now obsolete, meaning of 兔 is “moon”. 兔 also has a different pronunciation (chān), corresponding to a different (also obsolete) meaning, “planet Mercury”.

兔 evolved from a pictogram of a rabbit-like animal.

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鼠 | shǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 鼠 (Pinyin: shǔ 🔊) is a word for “mouse”, “rat” or other similar rodent.

The Rat is the first of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 子.

An ancient folk story tells that Cat and Rat were the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although they were poor swimmers, they were both quite intelligent. To get to the meeting called by the Jade Emperor, they had to cross a river to reach the meeting place. The Jade Emperor had also decreed that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they arrived to the meeting. Cat and Rat decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river was to hop on the back of Ox. Ox, being naïve and good-natured, agreed to carry them both across. Midway across the river, Rat pushed Cat into the water. Then as Ox neared the other side of the river, Rat jumped ahead and reached the shore first, claiming first place in the competition and the zodiac.

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公 | gōng

In Mandarin Chinese, 公 (Pinyin: gōng 🔊) is an extremely common word with many meanings. As an adjective, it can mean “public”, “communal”, “general”, “international”, “fair” and, when applied to animals, “male”:

• 公 + 牛 = 公牛 (gōngniú 🔊): bull
• 公 + 羊 = 公羊 (gōngyáng 🔊): ram
• 公 + 鸡 = 公鸡 (gōngjī): cockerel, rooster

Could it be that “male” is a “general” kind of animal, as opposed to a female animal which is special?

As a noun, 公 can mean “official business”, “authorities” or “duke”. It is also used as a SI prefix kilo- as in 公斤 (gōngjīn) “kilogram” and 公里 (gōnglǐ) “kilometre”. 公公 (gōnggong) means “father-in-law” (more precisely, husband’s father).

There are several theories of this character’s origin. According to Wiktionary,

The traditional interpretation as given by Han Feizi is that 公 is a compound of 八 [= 背 (“to deviate; opposite”)] and 厶 [original form of 私 (“individual; private”)], i.e. the opposite of “individual”; public. This theory is supported by Sun Yirang and Qiang Kaiyun, despite the somewhat different shape of the top component from 厶.

This is disputed in modern times by Gao Hongjin, who thinks that the 八 on top stands for 分 (“to divide; to distribute”) and the bottom round component of 口 symbolises the general object. 公 thus represents “equally dividing resources so that they are communal”.

Another theory put forth by Zhu Fangpu is that 公 is a pictogram, being the original form of 瓮 (“a wide-mouthed round-bottomed jar”), and later borrowed for the meaning of “public”.

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午 | wǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 午 (Pinyin: wǔ 🔊) is the seventh of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Horse (马) of the Chinese zodiac; the fifth month; the hour of the Horse (11 am to 1 pm, “the time when the sun is high overhead and while other animals are lying down for a rest, Horses are still standing”, or, sometimes, precisely noon); and the direction 180° (i.e. south). Its associated “fixed element” is Fire, 火. Note that the character 马 refers to any horse while 午 refers to the “zodiac horse”.

The shape of 午 is almost exactly the same as 牛 but these two characters are unrelated. According to Uncle Hanzi, 午 is a “pictograph of a large double ended pestle for dehusking rice”.

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马 | mǎ

In Mandarin Chinese, 马 (Pinyin: mǎ 🔊) means “horse”. The Horse is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 午. 马 also stands for “knight” (in chess) and “horse” (or “knight”) in xiangqi (Chinese chess). Finally, 马 can be used as an adjective “big”.

马 is a simplified form of the traditional character 馬 which is

derived from the pictogram of a horse with its head turned to look back and showing a flowing mane in the wind. The four short strokes at its base (灬) represent its feet, and the sweeping hook stroke in the lower right represents its tail.

Curiously, or maybe not, 小马 / 小馬 (xiǎomǎ), a compound with our friend 小, “small”, can mean either “pony” or “foal”. My Lovely “you’re a pony no more” Horse springs to mind, as horses do.

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酉 | yǒu

In Mandarin Chinese, 酉 (Pinyin: yǒu 🔊) is a useful word meaning “an alcoholic drink vessel” (such as bottle, jar and so on). 酉 is also the tenth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Rooster (鸡) of the Chinese zodiac; the eighth month; the hour of the Rooster (5 pm to 7 pm, “the time when Roosters begin to get back to their coops”); and the direction 270° (i.e. west). Its associated “fixed element” is Metal, 金. Note that the character 鸡 refers to actual fowl while 酉 refers to the zodiac bird.

Does the shape of 酉 remind you anything? That’s right, it looks very much like the character 四. Only in case of 酉 we see the Greek letter π trying to get more visible, perhaps with a little help of a bench or something. In fact, 酉 has evolved from a pictogram of a jug (of wine).

More photos related to chickens, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

鸡 | jī

In Mandarin Chinese, 鸡 (Pinyin: jī 🔊) is a noun for “chicken” and domestic fowl in general. To be more specific, Chinese uses compounds, for example:

• 公 + 鸡 = 公鸡 (gōngjī): cockerel, rooster
• 母 + 鸡 = 母鸡 (mǔjī): hen
• 小 + 鸡 = 小鸡 (xiǎojī 🔊): chick

The Rooster is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 酉. The other meanings of 鸡 include “prostitute” and “penis” (why I am not surprised?).

鸡 is a simplified form of the traditional character 雞 which is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic 奚 (xī) and semantic 隹 “short-tailed bird”. Historical forms of this latter character show great diversity, depicting birds with assorted tails and in a variety of positions.

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未 | wèi

In Mandarin Chinese, 未 (Pinyin: wèi 🔊) is an extremely common word meaning “not” or “have not”. 未 is also the eighth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Goat (羊) of the Chinese zodiac; the sixth month; the hour of the Goat (1 pm to 3 pm, “the time when Goats eat grass and urinate frequently”); and the direction 210° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Earth, 土.

Note that the character 羊 refers to any actual caprid animal while 未 refers to the zodiac animal.

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羊 | yáng

In Mandarin Chinese, 羊 (Pinyin: yáng 🔊) is a noun that is usually translated as “sheep” but is a general name for a caprid animal such as sheep, goat or antelope. To be more specific, Chinese uses compounds, for example:

• 公 + 羊 = 公羊 (gōngyáng 🔊): ram
• 母 + 羊 = 母羊 (mǔyáng 🔊): ewe
• 山 + 羊 = 山羊 (shānyáng 🔊): goat

A compound of 羊 and 肉 “meat”, 羊肉 (yángròu 🔊), means “mutton”.

The Goat is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 未.

Just as it is the case with 牛, the character 羊 evolved from the pictogram of the animal’s head with horns.

More photos related to goats, sheep, lamb, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

丑 | chǒu

In Mandarin Chinese, 丑 (Pinyin: chǒu 🔊) is the second of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Ox (牛) of the Chinese zodiac; the twelfth month; the hour of the Ox (1 am to 3 am, “the time when Oxen begin to chew the cud slowly and comfortably”); and the direction 30° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Earth, 土.

Note that the character 牛 refers to any actual bovid animal while 丑 refers to the “zodiac ox”.

More photos related to cattle, buffalo, bulls, cows, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

牛 | niú

In Mandarin Chinese, 牛 (Pinyin: niú 🔊) is a noun that is often translated as “ox” but is a general name for bovine animals (genus Bos, family Bovidae). To be more specific, Chinese uses compounds, for example:

• 公 + 牛 = 公牛 (gōngniú 🔊): bull
• 母 + 牛 = 母牛 (mǔniú 🔊): cow
• 水 + 牛 = 水牛 (shuǐniú 🔊): water buffalo

The Ox is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 丑. 牛 is also the name of a Chinese constellation located near the European constellation of Capricorn.

Many historical forms of this character look like cow’s head complete with horns and ears. I think gnu (another bovid, although not Bos) is a good mnemonic to remember pronunciation of 牛. For more physics-inclined, 牛 is short for 牛顿 / 牛頓 (Niúdùn), “newton” (SI unit of force). 牛肉 (niúròu 🔊) means “beef”.

More photos related to cattle, buffalo, bulls, cows, beef, zodiac and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

戌 | xū

In Mandarin Chinese, 戌 (Pinyin: xū 🔊) is the eleventh of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Dog (狗) of the Chinese zodiac; the ninth month; the hour of the Dog (7 pm to 9 pm, “the time when Dogs carry out their duty of guarding the houses”); and the direction 300° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Earth, 土.

The character 狗 refers to any actual dog while 戌 refers to the “zodiac dog”. 戌 is thought to be derived from a pictogram for axe, as can be seen in many historical forms of the character.

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太 | tài

In Mandarin Chinese, 太 (Pinyin: tài 🔊) is used either as an adverb “so”, “too”, “very”, or an adjective meaning “greatest”, “highest”, “noble”, “senior”, “utmost” etc. 太 is extremely common: “is one of the 1000 most commonly used words” in the Collins Chinese Dictionary. There are many compound words starting with 太, such as 太平 (tàipíng) “peace and tranquility”, 太空 (tàikōng) “space”, 太太 (tàitai) “wife”, or 太爷爷 / 太爺爺 (tàiyéye) “great-grandfather”.

By now we’ve got used to the figurative meanings of Chinese numerals (e.g. 万 means “ten thousand” but also “all”, “countless” and so on). Well, in case of 太 the opposite seems to be true as well: in Mainland China, 太 is employed as prefix “tera-” (10¹²), as in 太字节 / 太字節 (tàizìjié) “terabyte”.

Just like now-familiar 犬 “dog”, 太 consists of 大, “big”, modified with a stroke 丶; however in the case of 太 the stroke moved from the presumed “ear” position to somewhere, er, between the “legs”.

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狗 | gǒu

In Mandarin Chinese, 狗 (Pinyin: gǒu 🔊) is a noun that means “dog”. The Dog is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 戌.

Unfortunately for dog lovers, this word also could be used as an adjective meaning “despicable” or “nasty”. Thus 狗男女 (gǒu nánnǚ) is not a man (男) and a woman (女) innocently walking a dog but a “couple in an illicit love affair”.

According to Uncle Hanzi, 狗 is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic 句 (gōu) and semantic 犭, which itself is a radical form of 犬, archaic or dialectal word for dog.

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犬 | quǎn

In Chinese, 犬 (Pinyin: quǎn) means “dog”. In modern Mandarin, this character is used either as a radical or a part of compound words, for example 牧羊犬 (mùyángquǎn 🔊) “sheepdog” — cf. 牧羊人 (mùyángrén 🔊) “shepherd”.

According to Wiktionary,

Compound characters such as 狇 mostly use the alternative form <犭> at the left of the character. Most represent something to do with dogs or other animals. A smaller proportion (e. g. 狀) use the primary form at the right of the character. A few even show both forms: in 獄 which means “prison” or “litigation”; “words” (言) stand between two dogs to keep them from biting each other.

犬 is written like our other old friend 大, “big”, modified with a dot or a stroke 丶. Wiktionary explains that

the dot is the ear. <That’s why our seaglass 犬 above have got an earring.> In the form 犭, a dog that is up on its hind legs.

Many historical forms of this character look more like a dog standing on its tail.

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亿 | yì

In Mandarin Chinese, 亿 (Pinyin: yì 🔊) is a word for “hundred million” (i.e. 10⁸) as well as, you may have guessed by now, “many”.

Alternative way of expressing the number 100 000 000 is 万万 / 萬萬 (wànwàn), i.e. 万 (wàn) “ten thousand” squared. However, 万万 is more often used as an adverb meaning “absolutely” or “certainly” (not).

亿 is a simplified form of the traditional hanzi 億. It is a phono-semantic compound of 亻, a radical form of our old friend 人 (“people”) and phonetic 意 (yì), which later got replaced by totally unrelated but similarly-sounding 乙 (yǐ). It looks like even in ancient times in China there was a firm association between “people” and “many” although, curiously, some historical forms of this character lack the radical 亻.

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兆 | zhào

In Mandarin Chinese, 兆 (Pinyin: zhào) is a word for “sign” or “omen”. In Mainland China, it also means “million” (i.e. 10⁶), as in 兆瓦 (zhào wǎ), “megawatt”. However, in Japanese the very kanji 兆 stands for “trillion”, i.e. “million million” (this meaning is now obsolete in Mainland China).

Alternative, and less ambiguous, way of expressing the number 10⁶ is 百万 / 百萬 (bǎiwàn), that is, 百 “hundred” by 万 “ten thousand”. Alternative way of expressing the number 10¹² is 亿万 / 億萬 (yìwàn), i.e. 亿 (10⁸) by 万 (10⁴). In Mainland China, 太 (tài) is used as prefix “tera-” (10¹²).

According to Uncle Hanzi, 兆 originally represented “the cracks in oracle bones caused by fire which were thought to be signs (omens) of the future”.

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