丑
Meanings
the Ox; second sign of the Chinese zodiac
Refers to the second sign of the twelve-year zodiac cycle, commonly seen in compounds such as 丑年. Do not confuse this with 牛, the animal 'ox; cow'.
She was born in the Year of the Ox.
I drew a picture of the Ox on the New Year's card.
hour of the Ox; around 2 a.m.
Obsolete time-keeping term, now mostly encountered in historical, literary, or fixed expressions such as 丑の刻. The exact modern-hour range may vary by explanation.
See also: 丑の刻
In ghost stories, strange things happen at the hour of the Ox.
north-northeast
Obsolete directional use from traditional systems that assigned the Earthly Branches to directions; in modern ordinary speech one would normally say 北北東.
In explanations of old directional systems, 丑 indicates north-northeast.
Obsolete calendrical use for the twelfth month of the lunar calendar; modern Japanese normally uses terms such as 十二月 or 陰暦十二月 instead.
In old calendars, 丑 can represent the twelfth month of the lunar calendar.