属相 (shǔ xiàng) — (Chinese zodiac) animal sign; one of the 12 ani…

Definition

Colloquial everyday word for your Chinese zodiac animal. 生肖 is the same meaning but more formal/written — you'll hear 属相 in casual speech.

noun

(Chinese zodiac) animal signone of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac

属相？
Nǐ zhī dào zì jǐ shì shén me shǔ xiàng ma?
Do you know what your zodiac sign is?
属相，。
Wǒ mā ma de shǔ xiàng shì niú, tā de xìng gé hěn qín láo.
My mom's zodiac sign is the Ox, and her personality is very hardworking.
，属相。
Zài zhōng guó, hěn duō rén yòng shǔ xiàng lái pàn duàn hūn yīn shì fǒu hé shì.
In China, many people use the zodiac signs to judge whether a marriage is suitable.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 屬; 属 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

㞑Written in full as尾wěitail

Sound part声符shēngfú

蜀

Same sound today

The traditional form 屬 pairs 㞑 (tail) with 蜀 as a sound part; the simplified 属 is a shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

木目相

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Appears in