酉 (yǒu) · the tenth Earthly Branch, the Rooster (zodiac)

Meanings

1 the tenth Earthly Branch
2 the Rooster (zodiac)
3 5-7 p.m. (in the traditional time system)
4 (archaic) wine vessel

Characters

酉

yǒu

wine jar; tenth Earthly Branch

Examples

HSK 2

酉时是下午五点到七点。

Yǒu shí shì xiàwǔ wǔdiǎn dào qīdiǎn.

The Hour of the Rooster is from 5 to 7 p.m.

HSK 6

他属鸡，生于酉年。

Tā shǔjī, shēngyú yǒu nián.

He is a Rooster, born in a 酉 year.

Tips

history

Originally a pictograph of a wine jar with the contents inside. 酉 is the prototype of 酒 (jiǔ, alcohol), which simply added the water radical. It was later borrowed to write the tenth of the twelve Earthly Branches, paired with the Rooster in the zodiac and with 5-7 p.m. in the traditional twelve-hour clock.

memory

Spotting 酉 on either side of a character is a near-guarantee of fermentation or alcohol semantics: 酒 (alcohol), 醉 (drunk), 醒 (sober up / wake), 酸 (sour), 酱 (sauce), 醋 (vinegar), 酪 (cheese), 酬 (toast/reward).

Components

pictograph

酉 yǒu

wine vessel (Kangxi #164)

Pictograph of a narrow-necked wine jar - rim, body, and dregs settled inside the belly. As the indexing radical it heads everything wine-or-ferment related: 酒 (wine), 酸 (sour), 醉 (drunk), 醋 (vinegar). Also names the tenth Earthly Branch and the zodiac Rooster, the late-afternoon hour when farmers traditionally tipped a cup.

Radical

Wine Jar Kangxi #164

The wine-jar radical. A pictograph of an ancient sealed wine vessel, prototype of 酒. Highly productive in fermentation, alcohol, and tangy-flavor vocabulary: 酒, 醉, 醒, 酸, 醋, 酱, 酪, 酬, 酵, 酶. Also borrowed for the tenth Earthly Branch (Rooster, 5-7 p.m.). One of the most reliable semantic cues in the language.