十二生肖

shí'èr shēngxiào
noun #89,838

Meanings

  1. 1 the twelve Chinese zodiac animals
  2. 2 the twelve-year animal cycle

Examples

HSK 6
Nǐ shǔ shénme? Shí'èr shēngxiào lǐ wǒ shǔ lóng.
What's your zodiac sign? In the twelve zodiac animals I'm a dragon.
HSK 6
Shí'èr shēngxiào àn shùnxù shì shǔ niú hǔ tù lóng shé mǎ yáng hóu jī gǒu zhū.
The zodiac order is rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig.

Tips

culture
Tied to the twelve Earthly Branches 地支 ( ...). Each year corresponds to one animal on a repeating 12-year cycle. People commonly ask 什么 (what sign are you) as a roundabout way of asking age. The colloquial synonym is 属相.
memory
reads xiào here (fourth tone), not xiāo. The character means resemble, and the animals resemble the year of birth.

Stroke Order

shí
èr
shēng
xiào