How common it is
生肖 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.
Pronunciation focus
Say shēng xiāo slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.
Usage note
“生肖”是中国文化中用来代表出生年份的十二种动物，比如鼠、牛、虎等。
“Shēng xiào” shì Zhōngguó wénhuà zhōng yòng lái dàibiǎo chūshēng niánfèn de shí'èr zhǒng dòngwù, bǐrú shǔ, niú, hǔ děng.
"Zodiac, animal sign" refers to the twelve animals in Chinese culture that represent birth years, such as rat, ox, tiger, etc.
Context note
每个人都有一个生肖，根据出生年份决定。比如2020年出生的人生肖是鼠。
Měi gè rén dōu yǒu yī gè shēngxiào, gēnjù chūshēng niánfèn juédìng. Bǐrú 2020 nián chūshēng de rén shēngxiào shì shǔ.
Everyone has a zodiac animal sign, determined by their birth year. For example, people born in 2020 have the zodiac sign of the rat.
5 examples
我的生肖是兔子，因为我出生在兔年。
wǒ de shēng xiào shì tù zi， yīn wèi wǒ chū shēng zài tù nián。
My zodiac animal is the rabbit, because I was born in the Year of the Rabbit.
十二生肖包括鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪。
shí èr shēng xiào bāo kuò shǔ 、 niú 、 hǔ 、 tù 、 lóng 、 shé 、 mǎ 、 yáng 、 hóu 、 jī 、 gǒu 、 zhū。
The twelve zodiac animals include rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
每年春节，人们会庆祝新的生肖年。
měi nián chūn jié， rén men huì qìng zhù xīn de shēng xiào nián。
Every Spring Festival, people celebrate the new zodiac year.
我的好朋友生肖是龙，他觉得很酷。
wǒ de hǎo péng yǒu shēng xiào shì lóng， tā jué de hěn kù。
My good friend's zodiac animal is the dragon, he thinks it's cool.
妈妈告诉我，生肖是中国的传统文化。
mā ma gào sù wǒ， shēng xiào shì zhōng guó de chuán tǒng wén huà。
Mom told me that the zodiac is a traditional Chinese culture.
5 mini stories
小明的生肖是狗，他喜欢小狗。他每年都画一只小狗庆祝生日。
xiǎo míng de shēng xiào shì gǒu， tā xǐ huan xiǎo gǒu。 tā měi nián dōu huà yì zhī xiǎo gǒu qìng zhù shēng rì。
Xiaoming's zodiac animal is the dog, he likes little dogs. He draws a little dog every year to celebrate his birthday.
春节到了，家里贴了生肖猴的窗花。小华很开心，因为他的生肖是猴。
chūn jié dào le， jiā lǐ tiē le shēng xiào hóu de chuāng huā。 xiǎo huá hěn kāi xīn， yīn wèi tā de shēng xiào shì hóu。
Spring Festival arrived, and the family put up window paper-cuts of the zodiac monkey. Xiaohua was very happy because his zodiac animal is the monkey.
老师问大家生肖是什么。小红说她的生肖是鸡，因为她喜欢早起。
lǎo shī wèn dà jiā shēng xiào shì shén me。 xiǎo hóng shuō tā de shēng xiào shì jī， yīn wèi tā xǐ huan zǎo qǐ。
The teacher asked everyone what their zodiac animal was. Xiaohong said her zodiac animal is the rooster, because she likes to get up early.
奶奶说生肖龙代表勇敢。小刚的生肖是龙，他决定要更勇敢。
nǎi nai shuō shēng xiào lóng dài biǎo yǒng gǎn。 xiǎo gāng de shēng xiào shì lóng， tā jué dìng yào gèng yǒng gǎn。
Grandma said the zodiac dragon represents bravery. Xiaogang's zodiac animal is the dragon, so he decided to be braver.
十二生肖的故事里，老鼠是第一个。小明听了故事，觉得老鼠很聪明。
shí èr shēng xiào de gù shì lǐ， lǎo shǔ shì dì yī gè。 xiǎo míng tīng le gù shì， jué de lǎo shǔ hěn cōng ming。
In the story of the twelve zodiac animals, the rat was the first. Xiaoming listened to the story and thought the rat was very clever.