The 12 Animals
There are 12 animals representing the rotating 12-year circle of Chinese zodiac. Each of the 12 years is named after an animal. You’ve likely heard about this when Chinese people talking about the Year of Tiger, etc. The zodiac begins with the Year of Rat. Do you know which 12 animals they are?
- Rat – 鼠 Shǔ
- Ox – 牛 Niú
- Tiger – 虎 Hǔ
- Rabbit – 兔 Tù
- Dragon – 龍 / 龙 Lónɡ
- Snake – 蛇 Shé
- Horse – 馬 / 马 Mǎ
- Goat – 羊 Yánɡ
- Monkey – 猴 Hóu
- Rooster – 雞 / 鸡 Jī
- Dog – 狗 / 犬 Gǒu
- Pig – 豬 / 猪 Zhū
How to say I was born in the year of…?
This sentence in Chinese is: Wǒ shǔ… (literally means: I belong to…). So if you are born in the year of Tiger, you say: Wǒ shǔ hǔ.
As the 12 animals rotate, they repeat every 12 years. Now I tell you this year 2012 is the year of Dragon. Similarly the year 2000 is also the year of Dragon. Can you figure out what animal represents the year you were born? If you have troubles, leave a comment below and I will answer you next time!
