十二支 shí èr zhī

DEFINITIONS

  1. the 12 earthly branches 子[zi3], 丑, 寅, 卯, 辰, 巳, 午, 未, 申, 酉, 戌, 亥 (used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal number)

CHARACTERS

十 shí ten, tenth; complete; perfect
二 èr two; twice
支 zhī disperse, pay; support; branch