尘 | chén

In Mandarin Chinese, 尘 (Pinyin: chén 🔊) is a noun that means “dust”, “dirt”, “ashes”, “cinders” and so on. Figuratively, it also means “dirty thing”, “war”, “warfare” — well, war is a dirty thing. In Buddhism, 尘 refers to the mundane world, mortal life, etc.

尘 is said to be a simplified form of the traditional character 塵. Lawrence J. Howell in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters explains the origin of 塵 as

鹿 (long herd of) deer + 土 earth → dust kicked up by an advancing herd of deer → dirt → trash; waste.

Therefore, the 鹿 part somehow got simplified to 小, which, you may recall, on its own means “small”.

On the other hand, Wiktionary says:

According to the Kangxi dictionary, 尘 is an ancient form of 塵.

In any case, 小 “small” + 土 “earth” → 尘 “dust” makes perfect sense to me, and 尘 is easier to remember, read and write than 塵.

Some compounds of 尘 include

• 灰 + 尘 = 灰尘 (huīchén 🔊): dust
• 风 + 尘 = 风尘 (fēngchén): (literally) windblown dust; (figuratively) hardships of travel; vicissitudes of life; prostitution
• 红 + 尘 = 红尘 (hóngchén): (literally) dust; (figuratively) bustling places, human society; worldly affairs etc.
• 玉 + 尘 = 玉尘 (yùchén): (literary) snow; petal
• 沙 + 尘 = 沙尘 (shāchén): dust and sand; yellow dust (in the air)
• 沙尘 + 暴 = 沙尘暴 (shāchénbào): dust storm, sandstorm; calima

More photos of dust, earth, ashes, snow, petals and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

阴 | yīn

In Mandarin Chinese, 阴 (Pinyin: yīn 🔊) is an adjective meaning “cloudy”, “overcast”, “dark”, “hidden”, “secret”, “insidious”, “negative” etc., or a noun for “the moon”, “shade”, “shadow” or “back”. All these meanings are related to Yin, “a principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with dark, cool, female, etc. elements of the natural world”. According to Wikipedia,

Yin is characterized as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity, and nighttime.

阴 is also a word for human “private parts”, that is, anus and (both female and male) genitals — maybe because they are supposed to be hidden?

阴 is a simplified form of the traditional character 陰, which is a combination of radicals 阝 (itself a simplification of 阜, “hill” or “mound”) and 侌 (which has the same meaning as the whole 陰), thus translated as “dark side of a hill”. The 侌 got simplified to one aspect of Yin, 月 “the moon”.

More photos of moon and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

辰 | chén

In Mandarin Chinese, 辰 (Pinyin: chén 🔊) is the fifth of twelve earthly branches. It corresponds to the Year of the Dragon (龙) of the Chinese zodiac; the third month; the hour of the Dragon (7 am to 9 am, “the time when Dragons are hovering in the sky to give rain”); and the direction 120° (where 0° is north). Its associated “fixed element” is Earth, 土. Note that the character 龙 refers to any common-or-garden dragon while 辰 refers only to the zodiac dragon.

Uncle Hanzi says that 辰 is a pictogram of “an Egyptian type hoe, or hoe type plow”. According to Wikipedia,

It has been proposed by one academic researcher that the Earthly Branch character may have been associated with scorpions; it may have symbolized the star Antares.

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龙 | lóng

In Mandarin Chinese, 龙 (Pinyin: lóng 🔊) means “dragon”. Figuratively, it can mean “emperor”, “king”, “sovereign”, “chief”, “hero” and so on; and, by extension, “dragon-shaped object” and even “long object”. To me, this latter meaning offers a mnemonic for the pronunciation of 龙 (lóng).

The Dragon is one of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and is associated with the earthly branch 辰. According to Wikipedia,

The Chinese dragon has very different connotations to European dragon — in European cultures, the dragon is a firebreathing creature with aggressive connotations, whereas the Chinese dragon is a spiritual and cultural symbol that represents prosperity and good luck, as well as a rain deity that fosters harmony.

龙 is a simplified (beyond any recognition) form of the traditional character 龍,

originally a serpent with prominent whiskered mouth and eyes. Current form developed in large seal script, with serpent’s body on right (tail at upper right, legs on right), whiskered/fanged mouth at lower left, and eyes/crown at upper left. Left side was subsequently simplified and abstracted, with some influence of 立 and ⺼/月

while Uncle Hanzi says that it is “probably originally a cobra. Meaning dragon”.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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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♑ | Capricorn

♑ (Capricorn) is the tenth astrological sign in the Western zodiac, ruled by the planet Saturn. Just like the Taurus and Virgo, it is an earth sign. The Sun is in this sign between 21 December and 20 January.

Juan Eduardo Cirlot wrote in his Dictionary of Symbols:

Its dual nature, expressed allegorically in the form of a goat whose body terminates in a fish’s tail, refers to the dual tendencies of life towards the abyss (or water) on the one hand, and the heights (or mountains) on the other; these two currents also signify, in Hindu doctrine, the involutive and evolutive possibilities: the return to or the departure from the ‘wheel of rebirth’ (that is, the Zodiac).

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♍ | Virgo

♍ (Virgo) is the sixth astrological sign in the Western zodiac. The Sun is in this sign between 22 August and 22 September.

According to Wikipedia, the symbol ♍ is derived

from the Greek letters ΠΑΡ, which are the first three letters of the Greek word parthenos, which means “virgin”.

Juan Eduardo Cirlot wrote in his Dictionary of Symbols:

For the Egyptians it was identical with Isis. Since it is governed by Mercury and corresponds to the number six, it is symbolic of hermaphroditism, or that state which is characterized by dual — positive and negative — forces. Hence Virgo is sometimes depicted with the symbol of the soul or the Seal of Solomon (two triangles, representing fire and water, superimposed and intersecting to form a six-pointed star). In mythology and in religions generally, this symbol is always associated with the birth of a god or a demigod, as the supreme expression of the dynamic consciousness.

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♉ | Taurus

♉ (Taurus) is the second astrological sign in the Western zodiac. The Sun is in this sign between 21 April and 21 May.

The symbol ♉ looks very much like the Greek letter α on its side (and vice versa) and most likely has the same origin, that is, an Egyptian hieroglyph of an ox’s head, 𓃾. Juan Eduardo Cirlot provides an alternative (or complimentary) explanation in his Dictionary of Symbols:

the fact that the sign of Taurus corresponds to the number two relates it to the principle of duality composed of the masculine (Viraj, or Yang) and the feminine (Vac, or Yin). There is also a morphological relationship between the bull, on account of its head and horns, and the waxing and waning aspects of the moon, which is further evidence of the bull’s symbolic function of invigoration, at least in the sublunary sphere. The sign of Taurus governs the throat and voice, and is in turn dominated by Venus.

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♁ | Earth

⊕ and ♁ are the astronomical symbols representing the planet Earth.

Earth was not one of the seven classical planets. You’d think it would be natural for astrologers to put Earth in the centre. But no. Juan Eduardo Cirlot writes in his Dictionary of Symbols:

But astrology and traditional symbolism owe their inspiration not to the Copernican system but to that which had been accepted by the Ancients. <...> At the same time, the fact of there being seven planets responds to the idea of the seven planetary heavens, which in turn tallies with that of the seven Directions or areas in space (which in turn, when transposed into terms of time, becomes the origin of the seven days of the week). The relationship of the planets to the seven points in space is as follows: Sun — the zenith, Moon — the nadir, Mercury — the centre, Venus — the West, Mars — the South, Jupiter — the East, and Saturn — the North.

One of symbols for Earth is a cross in a circle ⊕ which could be thought of as a globe with equator and one meridian.

Another symbol is a stylised globus cruciger, ♁, which looks like the upside-down “mirror of Venus” ♀, or maybe it is just ⊕ where the cross went off-centre. Note its (unintentional) similarity with Chinese character 土 “earth”. ♁ is also an alchemical symbol for antimony.

Earth deities include goddesses Cel, Cybele, Demeter, Gaia, Jörð, Ki, Māra, Mat Zemlya (Мать-Сыра Земля), Mokoš (Мокошь), Pachamama, Papahānaumoku, Sif, Terra (Tellus), Urash and Žemyna as well as gods Geb, Tudigong and Veles.

More photos of earth and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

土 | tǔ

In Mandarin Chinese, 土 (Pinyin: tǔ) means “earth”, “soil” or “clay”. (Also, “crude opium”.)

Earth is one of the five elements of Wǔ Xíng. There are many historical forms of this character that look very much like a lump of clay on a potter’s wheel. The modern symbol, however, is more like a scribble of a grave with a simple cross.

More photos of clay, earth, soil and sea glass @ Shutterstock.