戊
5th calendar sign
Readings
On'yomi
- ボ
- ボウ
Kun'yomi
- つちのえ
Meaning
戊 is the fifth of the ten calendar signs in the traditional Chinese sexagenary cycle. Its meaning is purely calendrical, with no concrete object or action associated.
Most common words using 戊
- 戊辰戦争ぼしんせんそう
Boshin War (Japanese civil war between Imperial and shogunate forces; 1868-1869)
- 戊つちのえ
5th in rank; fifth sign of the Chinese calendar
- 戊午つちのえうま
Earth Horse (55th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1918, 1978, 2038)
- 戊夜ぼや
fifth division of the night (approx. 3am to 5am)
- 戊子つちのえね
Earth Rat (25th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1948, 2008, 2068)
- 戊寅つちのえとら
Earth Tiger (15th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1938, 1998, 2058)
- 戊戌ぼじゅつ
Earth Dog (35th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1958, 2018, 2078)
- 戊申つちのえさる
Earth Monkey (45th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1908, 1968, 2028)
- 戊申詔書ぼしんしょうしょ
Imperial Rescript of 1908
- 戊種ぼしゅ
person whose physical suitability for conscription in the former Japanese military could not be determined in that year (e.g. due to illness)
- 戊辰つちのえたつ
Earth Dragon (5th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1928, 1988, 2048)
Study
Etymology
戊 originated as a pictograph of a pole weapon, but its modern use is purely as a calendrical sign. The historical connection between the weapon image and the calendar sign is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
Picture a pole weapon standing upright like a marker in a calendar grid, representing the fifth position.
Reading mnemonic
For ボ, imagine a bow (as in bow and arrow) shaped like the character 戊, marking the fifth sign: bow -> ボ.