Chinese animal signs change every year. Do you know how many Chinese animal signs are there? Let’s take a look.
HOW MANY CHINESE ANIMAL SIGNS ARE THERE
There are twelve Chinese animal signs. That means they rotate every twelve years. And, it is a way that Chinese people figure out each each other’s age by asking one’s Chinese animal sign.
What?
Yes!
CHINESE ANIMAL SIGNS AND AGE
How do people figure out one’s age by knowing their Chinese birth signs? Well, since this is a 12-year cycle and they animals are in order. Therefore, you work with numbers and go forward or backward within the 12 years.
It is a lot of fun for Chinese kids. As to the adults, some will not reveal their birth signs. Now, you know why.
Let’s look at a couple examples.
2018 is year of the DOG. The ages of people who were born in the year of the DOG are 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, or 108 in 2018.
Grandpa Martin was born in the year of the dog. So, you would say that Grandpa Martin is probably 72 years old with your observation of the ages of his children and his grandchildren.
If a very young teacher tells you that she was born in the year of the DOG and you can probably guess how old she is. She would be 24!
How about if a cousin at his 20s tells you that he was born in the year of the PIG. Year of the PIG comes after the year of the DOG. So this cousin is now 23 years old and he will be 24 in 2019.
WHAT’S YOUR CHINESE ANIMAL BIRTH SIGN
You don’t just pick an animal that you like in the 12 Chinese animal birth signs to be your animal. You will look at a lunar calendar and see what animal birth sign coordinates with the year you were born in.
Kids can look at the calendar below and write down the Chinese birth signs of the family members to have fun with some age numbers!
Chinese characters are in traditional form.
NAMES OF THE 12 CHINESE ANIMAL SIGNS
Here are the 12 animals in order. Chinese Children remember the order with a rhyme. There are four Chinese characters with a simplified writing form variation*. You can check out Miss Panda’s Playbook Printable Lesson: Chinese New Year 12 Animal Signs Literacy and Culture
(1) Mouse 鼠
(2) Cow 牛
(3) Tiger 虎
(4) Rabbit 兔
(5) Dragon 龍|龙*
(6) Snake 蛇
(7) Horse 馬|马*
(8) Sheep 羊
(9) Monkey 猴
(10) Chicken 雞|鸡*
(11) Dog 狗
(12) Pig 豬|猪*
English – Pinyin
(1) Mouse shǔ (2) Cow niú (3) Tiger hǔ (4) Rabbit tù
(5) Dragon lóng (6) Snake shé (7) Horse mǎ (8) Sheep yáng
(9) Monkey hóu (10) Chicken jī (11) Dog gǒu (12) Pig zhū
ANIMATION OF 12 ANIMAL CHARACTERS
The twelve Chinese birth signs, all twelve animals are in this short video below. You can see the animals with their matching Chinese characters in this animation. Can you spot them all?
Dog – 狗 is also known as [犬] in classic Chinese and that is what you will see in this video.
Exploring More Resources in Chinese for Kids Chinese New Year Series
12 Chinese Animal Signs Activity & Culture Learning Unit
Greetings & Crafts Learning Unit
12 Chinese Animal Signs Posters Learning Unit
12 Chinese Lunar New Year & Culture Books
Make a Chinese New Year Lucky Word Sign Fú Craft
Lantern Festival Riddle Game Printable
Chinese New Year Classic Greeting Coloring Pages
Let’s Make Dumplings A Must-Have Recipe
Winter Solstice Dōng Zhì Festival
Chinese New Year Laba Festival
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