The Twelve Zodiac Animals in Manchu: How Do You Say Your Zodiac Sign?

An Introduction to the Manchu Names and Pronunciation of the Twelve Zodiac Animals

By Ming Ye (MING YE)

The twelve zodiac animals are among the most familiar symbols of traditional Chinese culture. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig form a repeating twelve-year cycle that has been used for centuries to designate years and describe a person’s zodiac sign.

But how were these twelve animals called in Manchu?

For people interested in the Manchu language, the zodiac provides an easy and memorable way to learn a group of traditional words. Because the sequence of the twelve animals is already familiar, learners can concentrate on their Manchu names and pronunciation.

In Manchu, a term associated with the zodiac year or zodiac designation is aniyangga.

Below are the twelve zodiac animals and their Manchu names. The pronunciation column is written primarily for English-speaking readers and is intended as a practical guide rather than a strict phonetic transcription.

The Twelve Zodiac Animals in Manchu

🐀 Rat — singgeri
Pronunciation: sing-ge-ri

🐂 Ox — ihan
Pronunciation: ee-han

🐅 Tiger — tasha
Pronunciation: ta-sha

🐇 Rabbit — gvlmahvn
Pronunciation: gul-ma-hun

🐉 Dragon — muduri
Pronunciation: moo-doo-ri

🐍 Snake — meihe
Pronunciation: may-heh

🐎 Horse — morin
Pronunciation: mo-rin

🐑 Sheep — honin
Pronunciation: ho-nin

🐒 Monkey — bonio
Pronunciation: bo-nyo

🐓 Rooster — coko
Pronunciation: cho-ko

🐕 Dog — indahvn
Pronunciation: in-da-hun

🐖 Pig — ulgiyan
Pronunciation: ool-gee-yan

Understanding the Pronunciation

The spellings in the Manchu column are romanized forms of the Manchu words. They should not always be pronounced according to ordinary English spelling conventions.

For example, muduri, meaning “dragon,” can be approximated for an English-speaking beginner as moo-doo-ri.

morin, meaning “horse,” can be approached as mo-rin, while coko, meaning “rooster” or “chicken,” is approximately cho-ko.

Some words are less intuitive. gvlmahvn, “rabbit,” contains sounds represented in Manchu romanization by v, while ulgiyan, “pig,” contains the sequence giy. These forms cannot be represented perfectly through ordinary English spelling.

For this reason, pronunciation guides such as gul-ma-hun and ool-gee-yan should be regarded as learning aids rather than exact phonetic transcriptions.

For linguistic or academic purposes, a standardized Manchu transliteration system—and, where greater phonetic precision is required, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)—is preferable.

The Twelve Animals as Manchu Vocabulary

Learning the zodiac animals also provides a simple introduction to the sound and structure of Manchu vocabulary.

The twelve names, in their traditional order, are:

singgeri — ihan — tasha — gvlmahvn — muduri — meihe — morin — honin — bonio — coko — indahvn — ulgiyan

Even this short list reveals that Manchu vocabulary has a sound pattern quite different from both Chinese and English.

Some words are immediately memorable. tasha, for example, means “tiger,” while muduri means “dragon.” Others, such as singgeri (“rat”) and indahvn (“dog”), introduce learners to combinations of sounds and letters characteristic of Manchu romanization.

More Than Twelve Animal Names

The twelve zodiac animals are not merely a vocabulary exercise.

They also provide a small window into the historical relationship between language, calendar traditions, everyday life, and cultural exchange in the world in which Manchu was once widely used.

For modern learners, familiar cultural subjects such as the zodiac can make an unfamiliar historical language much easier to approach.

Instead of beginning with complicated grammar, one can begin with twelve words:

Rat — singgeri
Ox — ihan
Tiger — tasha
Rabbit — gvlmahvn
Dragon — muduri
Snake — meihe
Horse — morin
Sheep — honin
Monkey — bonio
Rooster — coko
Dog — indahvn
Pig — ulgiyan

From these twelve words, a reader has already taken a first step into the Manchu language.

And perhaps the simplest place to begin is with one question:

What is your zodiac animal—and what is it called in Manchu?

— Ming Ye (MING YE)

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