top of page

Chinese Zodiac

Objectives:

Students will demontrate comprehension of how the zodiac animals were seected by retelling the story "the Big Race".

Students will be able to identify and pronounce all twelve animals in Chinese and explain their  represenation and associations in Chinese culture. 

New Vocab

Chinese Zodiac Animal

十二生肖

shí èr shēng xiāo

mouse  ox/bull   tiger     rabbit     dragon     snake

 鼠          牛         虎            兔             龙           蛇

shǔ                   niú                 hǔ                        tù                         lóng                  shé

horse    goat    monkey    rooster     dog      pig

  马           羊           猴           鸡         狗         猪

    mǎ                   yáng                   hóu                     jī                    gǒu               zhū

Each new lunar year is marked by one of the 12 zodiac animals. Typically, the animals include the horse, goat/sheep, monkey, rooster/chicken, dog, pig, rat/mouse, ox/bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, and snake. Some cultures have slight differences; in Vietnam, for example, a cat replaces the rabbit.

bottom of page