丁卯 (dīngmǎo): Dingmao (4th year of the 60-yea…

Meanings

1 Dingmao (4th year of the 60-year sexagenary cycle)
2 year of the Fire Rabbit (e.g. 1927, 1987, 2047)

Characters

丁

4th earthly branch (rabbit)

Examples

丁卯年生人属兔。

Dīngmǎo nián shēng rén shǔ tù.

People born in a Dingmao year belong to the Rabbit zodiac.

1987年是丁卯年。

Yī jiǔ bā qī nián shì dīngmǎo nián.

1987 was a Dingmao year.

Tips

culture

The Chinese sexagenary cycle (干支) pairs ten Heavenly Stems (天干) with twelve Earthly Branches (地支). 丁 is the 4th stem (associated with fire/yin); 卯 is the 4th branch (the Rabbit). The full cycle resets every 60 years — hence the importance of a 60th birthday (一甲子).

history

The Manchu invasion of Korea in 1627 is known in Korean as the 정묘호란 (丁卯胡乱 / Dingmao Barbarian Disturbance) — Korean and Japanese histories also count years by this same cycle.