十二支 – The 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals in Japanese

The Chinese Zodiac is comprised of 12 animals. In Japan, the Chinese Zodiac is mainly something that shows up around new years to show what this year’s animal is.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/
Every year is dedicated to one of these animals and the cycle repeats in a 12-year cycle. The 12 Zodiac animals in order are:

Mouse, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Boar

The Chinese Zodiac is called 十二支じゅうにし or 干支えと in Japanese. There are two things to know about these zodiac animals. 

• The Kanji used for them is different in the Chinese Zodiac from everyday Japanese Kanji
• The names of some of the animals in the zodiac are different from everyday Japanese also

So, keep that in mind if you are trying to learn Japanese. I will explain the differences though below.

Mouse – 子

Conveniently the first zodiac animal is the mouse. That is because this year, 2020 when this is being written in the year of the mouse. In Japanese, you would say,

子年 (ねどし・ねずみどし、ne-doshi・nezumi-doshi)

In the Chinese Zodiac 子 is the Kanji used for mouse. In everyday Japanese though, this Kanji means child.

The word mouse in the zodiac is ね. In everyday Japanese though, the word for mouse is ねずみ.  So, this year is the year of the mouse.

Cow – 丑

Next year, 2021 will be the year of the cow, or 丑年うしどし(ushi-doshi). The word for cow or bull in Japanese is うし.  The Kanji for cow is 牛 except for the Zodiac where it is 丑.

Tiger – 寅

2022 will be the year of the tiger. とら(tora) is tiger in Japanese. The Kanji used in everyday Japanese is 虎 while 寅 is the Zodiac character.

Rabbit – 卯

Next we have the rabbit. The word for rabbit in Japanese is 兎(うさぎ、usagi). In the Chinese Zodiac, however, it is shortened just 卯(う、u).

Dragon – 辰

The dragon is the next animal, if you can call it an animal. It is written here as 辰 which is pronounced たつ(tatsu). This is also one of the ways to refer to a dragon in Japanese but it would be more common to say ryuu. Normally the character for dragon is 龍 or 竜.

Snake – 巳

2025 is the next year of the snake. Snake in Japanese is 蛇(へび、hebi). The Zodiac name for snake is 巳(み, mi).

Horse – 午

Horse in Japanese is 馬(うま、uma). The Kanji in the Chinese Zodiac is 午. This Kanji is the same one used for 午前(ごぜん) and 午後(ごご) meaning am and pm respectively.

Sheep – 未

未 is a Kanji used as a prefix on words usually to refer to things that are unfinished. Here though it is pronounced ひつじ(hitsuji) which is the word for sheep in Japanese. 羊 is the Kanji though that is used in everyday Japanese. 2027 is the next year of the sheep.

Monkey – 申

Saru means monkey in Japanese. It is written 猿 in normal Japanese and 申 in the Zodiac.

Chicken – 酉

The word for chicken in Japanese, when you are referring to the actual bird and not meat is 鶏(にわとり、niwatori). This translates literately to garden bird.

When you are talking about food though you would say 鶏肉(とりにく、toriniku). Here, it would translate to bird meat but it is only used to refer to chicken, not any other type of bird meat.

The pronunciation of 酉 though is とり(tori). This is used in the Chinese Zodiac to refer to the chicken. So if you are talking about the year of the chicken, 酉年(tori-doshi) you would only be referring to a chicken and not any other bird.

Dog – 戌

Number 11 is the dog or inu. The Kanji in Japanese is 犬 but is 戌 in the Zodiac. 2030 will be the next year of the dog.

Boar – 亥

Finally, the last of the 12 zodiac animals is the boar. The word for boar in Japanese is 猪(いのしし、inoshishi). In the Zodiac however, it is shortened to just い(i). The Kanji used here is 亥. 

So, now you know some more Japanese. If you would like to continue learning more about the Japanese language then you are in the write place. I have reviewed what I believe is the best book on Japanese Grammar.

2,110 Pages, No Word Wasted – A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, Reviewed

If grammar is not your thing, that is fine too. I have several other posts about all sorts of topics on the Japanese language. 

Resources

• Chinese Zodiac (Japanese)
• A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar