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

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–Hong Kong)⁺
  - 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

the twelve earthly branches, namely 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)
a gambling game, commonly referred to as "chap ji kee" in English sources, which used the 12 cards of the 四色牌 (sìsèpái) (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 (zǐ shǔ, “rat”)
丑牛 (chǒu niú, “ox”)
寅虎 (yín hǔ, “tiger”)
卯兔 (mǎo tù, “rabbit”)
辰龍 / 辰龙 (chén lóng, “dragon”)
巳蛇 (sì shé, “snake”)
午馬 / 午马 (wǔ mǎ, “horse”)
未羊 (wèi yáng, “goat”)
申猴 (shēn hóu, “monkey”)
酉雞 / 酉鸡 (yǒu jī, “rooster”)
戌狗 (xū gǒu, “dog”)
亥猪 (hài zhū, “pig”)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (十二支):

→ Japanese: 十(じゅう)二(に)支(し) (jūnishi)
→ Korean: 십이지(十二支) (sibiji)
→ Vietnamese: Thập Nhị Chi (十二支)

Others:

→ Manchu: ᠵᡠᠸᠠᠨ
ᠵᡠᠸᡝ
ᡤᠠᡵᡤᠠᠨ (juwan juwe gargan) (calque)

Japanese

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

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) じゅうにし [jùúníꜜshì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[1]^[2]^[3]
IPA^(key): [d͡ʑɨːɲ̟iɕi]

Noun

十(じゅう)二(に)支(し) • (jūnishi) ^{←じふにし (zifunisi)^?}

the twelve earthly branches (支) of the Chinese zodiac, which are represented each by an animal
Synonym: 地支 (chishi)

Hyponyms

the twelve earthly branches

子(ね) (ne, “rat”)
丑(うし) (ushi, “ox”)
寅(とら) (tora, “tiger”)
卯(う) (u, “rabbit”)
辰(たつ) (tatsu, “dragon”)
巳(み) (mi, “snake”)
午(うま) (uma, “horse”)
未(ひつじ) (hitsuji, “goat”)
申(さる) (saru, “monkey”)
酉(とり) (tori, “rooster”)
戌(いぬ) (inu, “dog”)
亥(い) (i, “pig”)

Related terms

十(じっ)干(かん) (jikkan)

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

“十二支”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
十	二	支

Noun

十二支 • (sibiji) (hangeul 십이지)

hanja form^? of 십이지