Rooster; tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac; Cock or Chicken
The tenth sign of the 十二支 zodiac cycle. In English it is most often rendered Rooster, but Cock, Chicken, or Bird may also be seen depending on context.
In the twelve zodiac signs, the Rooster is the tenth.
I was born in the Year of the Rooster.
hour of the Rooster; early evening time period
Obsolete timekeeping use, especially in the phrase 酉の刻. It refers roughly to early evening, around 6 p.m., with the exact range varying by system.
See also: 酉の刻
In old time expressions, the hour of the Rooster refers to around evening.
Obsolete directional use from the old system that assigned the twelve earthly branches to directions. Modern Japanese normally says 西 for west.
In the old directional system, 酉 represents west.
Obsolete calendrical use for the eighth month of the lunar calendar. This is mainly relevant in historical or traditional calendar contexts.
In traditional calendars, 酉 can represent the eighth month of the lunar calendar.
kanji radical 164 (bird of the zodiac)
year of the Rooster
Tori-no-machi festival (archaic spelling)
kanji radical 164 (bird of the zodiac)
酉 is the conventional kanji for the tenth earthly branch in the traditional zodiac/calendar system. Its association with the rooster is conventional within that system; it is distinct from 鳥, the normal kanji for 'bird'.