Order | Animal | Description |
1 |
| Rat, mouse. |
2 |
 |  |
u | si |
| Ox, cow. |
3 |
 |  |
to | ra |
| Tiger. |
4 |
| Rabbit, hare. |
5 |
| Dragon. This is an imaginary animal, of course. The word  "tatu" also means the dragon and is more commonly used for the year of the dragon. |
6 |
 |  |
he | bi |
| Snake. |
7 |
 |  |
u | ma |
| Horse. |
8 |
| Sheep. In China, the year of the goat ( "yagi" in Japanese) is used instead of the sheep. |
9 |
 |  |
sa | ru |
| Monkey. |
10 |
| Chicken. The word  LH "niwa" means yard, and  "tori" means bird. The latter is more commonly used for the year of the chicken than    . |
11 |
 |  |
i | nu |
| Dog. |
12 |
| Wild boar. In China, the year of the pig ( "buta" in Japanese) is used instead of the wild boar. |