十二支

十二支

Chinese

		twelve; 12	(a measure word); to support; to sustain (a measure word); to support; to sustain; to erect; to raise; branch; division; to draw money
simp. and trad. (十二支)		十二	支

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shí'èrzhī

  (Zhuyin): ㄕˊ ㄦˋ ㄓ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sap⁶ ji⁶ zi¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shí'èrzhī
    • Zhuyin: ㄕˊ ㄦˋ ㄓ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shíh-èrjhih
    • Wade–Giles: shih²-êrh⁴-chih¹
    • Yale: shŕ-èr-jr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shyrelljy
    • Palladius: шиэрчжи (šierčži)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂʐ̩³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: sap⁶ ji⁶ zi¹
    • Yale: sahp yih jī
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sap⁹ ji⁶ dzi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: seb⁶ yi⁶ ji¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐp̚² jiː²² t͡siː⁵⁵/

Noun

十二支

1. the 12 "earthly branches" 子 (zǐ), 丑 (chǒu), 寅 (yín), 卯 (mǎo), 辰 (chén), 巳 (sì), 午 (wǔ), 未 (wèi), 申 (shēn), 酉 (yǒu), 戌 (xū), 亥 (hài) (used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal number)
2. a gambling game, commonly referred to as "chap ji kee" in English sources, which used the 12 cards of the 四色牌 (four colour cards) deck, each of which has a different character drawn from those used in Chinese chess (象棋 (xiàngqí))

Hyponyms

Earth branches and animals

• 子     鼠   (rat)
• 丑     牛   (ox)
• 寅     虎   (tiger)
• 卯     兔   (rabbit)
• 辰     龍   (dragon)
• 巳     蛇   (snake)
• 午     馬   (horse)
• 未     羊   (goat)
• 申     猴   (monkey)
• 酉     鷄   (rooster)
• 戌     狗   (dog)
• 亥     猪   (pig)

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
十	二	支
じゅう Grade: 1	に Grade: 1	し Grade: 5
on’yomi

Stone carving of Chinese zodiac

Noun

十(じゅう)二(に)支(し) • (jūnishi) 

1. the twelve "earthly branches" (支) of the Chinese zodiac, which are represented each by an animal