干支えと

also: かんし

え

と

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

sexagenary cycle; Chinese zodiac (60 combinations)

The full 60-term cycle formed by pairing the 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches. In Japan, it is most commonly encountered in the context of years (e.g., 2024 is the Year of the Dragon under this system). The reading かんし is used in more technical or historical discussions.

来らい年ねんの干支えとは甲きのえ辰たつです。
Next year's sexagenary sign is Kinoe-Tatsu (Wood Dragon).
干支えとは十じっ干かんと十じゅう二に支しの組くみ合あわせで成なり立たっています。
The sexagenary cycle is made up of combinations of the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches.

noun

12-year Chinese zodiac; animal zodiac

Only with reading えと

In everyday conversation, 干支 (えと) often refers specifically to the 12 animal signs (十二支) rather than the full 60-term cycle. This usage is restricted to the reading えと.

あなたの干支えとは何なんですか？
What is your Chinese zodiac sign?
彼かれの干支えとは辰たつです。
His zodiac sign is the Dragon.

See all 59 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈年とし〉〉の干支えとthe zodiac animal of a given year
今年ことしの干支えとは辰たつです。
This year's zodiac sign is the dragon.
〈人ひと〉〉の干支えとthe zodiac sign corresponding to a person's birth year
私わたしの干支えとは卯うです。
My zodiac sign is the rabbit.
干支えとが一回ひとまわりするfor the 12-year zodiac cycle to come full circle
来らい年ねんで干支えとが一ひと回まわりして年とし男おとこになる。
Next year the zodiac cycle will come full circle and I'll be in my本命 year.

Kanji

干dry, parch, ebb
支branch, support, sustain

Related words

十じゅう二に支し sense 2
十二支 is the technical term for the 12 animal signs alone, while 干支 in casual speech is often used to mean the very same thing.

Don't confuse with

十じっ干かん sense 1
十干 names only the 10 Heavenly Stems, one half of the 60-term cycle that 干支 as a whole denotes, so the two are easily mixed up.

Written forms

干支Usage81%
- えと
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading えと is a gikun (meaning-based reading) and is the most common way to read this word in modern Japanese.
- かんし
  On'yomi reading; used mainly in technical or historical contexts, especially when referring to the full sexagenary cycle.
えとUsage9%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
エトUsage9%
かんし

Etymology

From Chinese 干支 (gānzhī), combining the characters for 'Heavenly Stem' (干) and 'Earthly Branch' (支). The reading えと is a Japanese gikun (meaning-based reading) derived from the older native term 'eto', while かんし is the on'yomi.