If you want to talk about the zodiac in Chinese, the animal names are the first thing to learn. They are short, they show up constantly in conversation and in the lunar new year, and the whole set is worth memorizing as a block.
The twelve animals
Each animal has its own character, its own pinyin, and a pairing with one of the twelve earthly branches. Learn them together and the system starts to make sense.
| Animal | Character | Pinyin | Branch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat | 鼠 | shǔ | 子 zǐ |
| Ox | 牛 | niú | 丑 chǒu |
| Tiger | 虎 | hǔ | 寅 yín |
| Rabbit | 兔 | tù | 卯 mǎo |
| Dragon | 龙 | lóng | 辰 chén |
| Snake | 蛇 | shé | 巳 sì |
| Horse | 马 | mǎ | 午 wǔ |
| Goat | 羊 | yáng | 未 wèi |
| Monkey | 猴 | hóu | 申 shēn |
| Rooster | 鸡 | jī | 酉 yǒu |
| Dog | 狗 | gǒu | 戌 xū |
| Pig | 猪 | zhū | 亥 hài |
A few tones worth getting right
Chinese depends on tone, and a wrong tone turns one word into another. Three to watch:
- 鼠 is shǔ, the third tone, a dipping tone.
- 兔 is tù, the fourth tone, a falling tone. It is easy to say as the second tone and hear a different word.
- 猪 is zhū, the first tone, flat and high. The tricky part is the zh, which is a hard j sound, not a plain z.
If pronunciation is new to you, read the pinyin out loud a few times before you use the words in conversation.
Simplified and traditional characters
Four of the twelve animals are written differently in simplified and traditional Chinese. If you read Taiwanese or Hong Kong material, you will see the traditional forms:
| Animal | Simplified | Traditional |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon | 龙 | 龍 |
| Horse | 马 | 馬 |
| Rooster | 鸡 | 雞 |
| Pig | 猪 | 豬 |
The rest are identical in both scripts. The pronunciation does not change, only the shape of the character.
How to ask someone their sign
The natural phrase is:
Nǐ shǔ shénme? (你属什么?)
It means, roughly, “what are you the year of.” The key verb is 属 (shǔ), which here means “to belong to.” The answer uses the same verb:
Wǒ shǔ lóng. (我属龙.) I am a dragon.
That is the whole conversation. No need for the word for zodiac as an abstract concept. In everyday Chinese people just say which animal they 属.
Where this comes up
Animal names appear constantly around the lunar new year, in greetings, on decorations, and in casual chat about age and compatibility. Knowing the twelve characters is enough to follow most of it. The branch names next to each animal are worth recognizing too, since they also label years, months, and the two hour periods of the day.
If you want to check your own animal and the element that comes with it, the free report at eastzodiacmatch.xyz/en/report/ returns your pillar on load, no signup needed.
FAQ
What is the Chinese word for the zodiac animals?
There is no single short word. People usually refer to the twelve animals as 生肖 (shēngxiào), but in conversation they just name the animal. The verb 属 (shǔ) is what you use to say which one you are.
How do you ask someone their Chinese zodiac sign in Chinese?
Nǐ shǔ shénme? (你属什么?). The answer is Wǒ shǔ plus the animal, for example Wǒ shǔ lóng, I am a dragon.
Are the characters the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
No. Four differ: dragon, horse, rooster, and pig. The other eight are written the same way in both scripts, and the pronunciation is unchanged.