十二地支
shí èr dì zhī
Pinyin

Definition

十二地支
 - 
shí èr dì zhī
  1. the 12 earthly branches 子[zǐ], 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥 (used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal numbers)

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

èr
  1. 1 two
  2. 2 2
  3. 3 (Beijing dialect) stupid
shí
  1. 1 ten
  2. 2 10
de
  1. 1 -ly
  2. 2 structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
dì zhǔ
  1. 1 landlord
  2. 2 landowner
  3. 3 host
dì zhǐ
  1. 1 address
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
dì fāng
  1. 1 region
  2. 2 regional (away from the central administration)
  3. 3 local
zhī chí
  1. 1 to be in favor of
  2. 2 to support
  3. 3 to back
  4. 4 support
  5. 5 backing
  6. 6 to stand by
  7. 7 CL:個|个[gè]
dì èr
  1. 1 second
  2. 2 number two
  3. 3 next
  4. 4 secondary
yī èr
  1. 1 one or two
  2. 2 a few
yī shí èr niǎo
  1. 1 to kill two birds with one stone (idiom)
qī shí
  1. 1 seventy
  2. 2 70
sān shí
  1. 1 thirty
  2. 2 30
bù bài zhī dì
  1. 1 invincible position
jiǔ shí
  1. 1 ninety
èr shí
  1. 1 twenty
  2. 2 20
èr shí duō
  1. 1 over 20
èr gē
  1. 1 second brother
èr nǎi
  1. 1 mistress
  2. 2 second wife
  3. 3 lover
èr shǒu
  1. 1 indirectly acquired
  2. 2 second-hand (information, equipment etc)
  3. 3 assistant
èr shǒu fáng
  1. 1 second-hand house
  2. 2 house acquired indirectly through a middle-man

Idioms (20)

一不做,二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一干二净
yī gān èr jìng
  1. 1 thoroughly (idiom)
  2. 2 completely
  3. 3 one and all
  4. 4 very clean
一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
  1. 1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一个天南,一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
  1. 1 to live miles apart (idiom)
一传十,十传百
yī chuán shí , shí chuán bǎi
  1. 1 news pass quickly from mouth to mouth (idiom)
  2. 2 an infectious disease spreads quickly (old meaning)
一分为二
yī fēn wéi èr
  1. 1 one divides into two
  2. 2 to be two-sided
  3. 3 there are two sides to everything
  4. 4 to see both sb's good points and shortcomings (idiom)
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
  1. 1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
  2. 2 to throw a tantrum
一回生二回熟
yī huí shēng èr huí shú
  1. 1 unfamiliar at first, but well accustomed soon enough (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳
yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy
一心二用
yī xīn èr yòng
  1. 1 to do two things at once (idiom)
  2. 2 to multitask
  3. 3 to divide one's attention
一败涂地
yī bài tú dì
  1. 1 failed and wiped over the floor (idiom); to fail utterly
  2. 2 a crushing defeat
  3. 3 beaten and in a hopeless position
一是一,二是二
yī shì yī , èr shì èr
  1. 1 lit. one is one, two is two (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. things are (or ought to be) perfectly clear-cut
  3. 3 unequivocal
一暴十寒
yī pù shí hán
  1. 1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
  2. 2 sporadic effort
  3. 3 short attention span
一曝十寒
yī pù shí hán
  1. 1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
  2. 2 sporadic effort
  3. 3 lack of sticking power
  4. 4 short attention span
一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
  2. 2 once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
一木难支
yī mù nán zhī
  1. 1 lit. a single post cannot prop up a falling house (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. one is helpless alone
一清二楚
yī qīng èr chǔ
  1. 1 to be very clear about sth (idiom)
一清二白
yī qīng èr bái
  1. 1 perfectly clean
  2. 2 blameless
  3. 3 unimpeachable (idiom)
一目十行
yī mù shí háng
  1. 1 ten lines at a glance (idiom)
  2. 2 to read very rapidly

Sample Sentences

开个玩笑嘛,何必这么认真?大家都知道,这些动物是搭配着咱们老祖宗发明的“干支纪年法”来的,十二地支对应到十二种动物。
kāigewánxiào ma ,hébì zhème rènzhēn ?dàjiā dōu zhīdào ,zhèxiē dòngwù shì dāpèi zhe zánmen lǎo zǔzōng fāmíng de “gānzhī jìniánfǎ ”lái de ,shíèr dìzhī duìyìng dào shí èr zhǒng dòngwù 。
I was only joking around, why are you being so serious? Everyone knows that these twelve animals go along with the Stems-and-Branches cycle used by our ancestors to record years, each of the 12 earthly branches corresponds to an animal.