Add to Chrome

Free · 68 words

The five elements in Chinese

Print as flashcards
Speed

The five elements chart

木 Wood火 Fire土 Earth金 Metal水 Water
Colour青 blue-green红 red黄 yellow白 white黑 black
Season春 spring夏 summer长夏 late summer秋 autumn冬 winter
Direction东 east南 south中 centre西 west北 north
Organ肝 liver心 heart脾 spleen肺 lungs肾 kidneys
Feeling怒 anger喜 joy思 worry悲 grief恐 fear
Flavour酸 sour苦 bitter甘 sweet辛 spicy咸 salty
Planet木星 Jupiter火星 Mars土星 Saturn金星 Venus水星 Mercury
Guardian青龙 Azure Dragon朱雀 Vermilion Bird—白虎 White Tiger玄武 Black Tortoise
Heavenly stems甲 乙 丙 丁 戊 己 庚 辛 壬 癸
Years ending in4, 56, 78, 90, 12, 3
Feeds (生)火 fire土 earth金 metal水 water木 wood
Overcomes (克)土 earth金 metal水 water木 wood火 fire

The five elements

  1. wǔ五xíng行

    the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth)

  2. mù木

    wood; timber

  3. huǒ火

    fire

  4. tǔ土

    soil; earth

  5. jīn金

    metal

  6. shuǐ水

    water

How they work

  1. xiāng相shēng生

    to engender one another

  2. xiāng相kè克

    mutually antagonistic; incompatible

  3. xiāng相shēng生xiāng相kè克

    mutual generation and mutual restraint (of the five elements)

  4. yīn阴yáng阳

    yin and yang

  5. fēng风shuǐ水

    feng shui; geomancy

  6. shēng生chén辰bā八zì字

    the eight characters of one's birth time

Colours

  1. wǔ五sè色

    the five colors

  2. qīng青

    blue or green

  3. hóng红

    red

  4. huáng黄

    yellow

  5. bái白

    white

  6. hēi黑

    black; dark

Seasons and directions

  1. chūn春

    spring (season)

  2. xià夏

    summer

  3. qiū秋

    autumn; fall

  4. dōng冬

    winter

  5. wǔ五fāng方

    the five directions (east, west, south, north and center); all quarters

  6. dōng东

    east

  7. nán南

    south

  8. zhōng中

    middle; center

  9. xī西

    west

  10. běi北

    north

Organs and feelings

  1. wǔ五zàng脏

    the five internal organs

  2. gān肝

    liver

  3. xīn心

    heart

  4. pí脾

    spleen

  5. fèi肺

    lung

  6. shèn肾

    kidney

  7. nù怒

    anger; rage

  8. xǐ喜

    happy; joyful

  9. sī思

    to think; to consider

  10. bēi悲

    sad; sorrowful

  11. kǒng恐

    to fear; afraid

Flavours

  1. wǔ五wèi味

    the five flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty)

  2. suān酸

    sour

  3. kǔ苦

    bitter

  4. gān甘

    sweet

  5. xīn辛

    hot; spicy

  6. xián咸

    salty

Planets and guardians

  1. mù木xīng星

    Jupiter (planet)

  2. huǒ火xīng星

    Mars (planet)

  3. tǔ土xīng星

    Saturn (planet)

  4. jīn金xīng星

    Venus (planet)

  5. shuǐ水xīng星

    Mercury (planet)

  6. sì四xiàng象

    the Four Symbols (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise)

  7. qīng青lóng龙

    Azure Dragon (guardian of the east)

  8. zhū朱què雀

    Vermilion Bird (symbol of the south in Chinese astrology)

  9. bái白hǔ虎

    White Tiger (symbol of the west in Chinese astrology)

  10. xuán玄wǔ武

    Black Tortoise (mythical guardian of the north)

Heavenly stems

  1. tiān天gān干

    the ten Heavenly Stems

  2. dì地zhī支

    Earthly Branches (12 cyclic characters)

  3. gān干zhī支

    the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (sexagenary cycle)

  4. jiǎ甲

    1st heavenly stem

  5. yǐ乙

    second (of ten heavenly stems); B

  6. bǐng丙

    third of the ten Heavenly Stems

  7. dīng丁

    4th heavenly stem; fourth (in a series)

  8. wù戊

    fifth of the ten Heavenly Stems

  9. jǐ己

    sixth of the ten heavenly stems

  10. gēng庚

    seventh heavenly stem

  11. xīn辛

    eighth of the ten Heavenly Stems

  12. rén壬

    ninth of the ten Heavenly Stems

  13. guǐ癸

    tenth of the ten Heavenly Stems

What are the five elements in Chinese?

五行 (wǔxíng): 木 (mù) wood, 火 (huǒ) fire, 土 (tǔ) earth, 金 (jīn) metal and 水 (shuǐ) water. 行 means to move, so they are also called the five phases: stages everything passes through, more than substances. On its own 金 usually means gold; in the five elements it is metal.

How do the five elements feed each other?

In the cycle of 相生 (xiāngshēng), each one feeds the next: 木生火, wood feeds fire; 火生土, fire leaves ash, which is earth; 土生金, earth bears metal; 金生水, metal gathers water, like dew; 水生木, water makes trees grow.

How do the five elements overcome each other?

In the cycle of 相克 (xiāngkè), each one holds another back: 木克土, roots break up the earth; 土克水, earth dams water; 水克火, water puts out fire; 火克金, fire melts metal; 金克木, metal cuts wood. Together the two cycles are 相生相克 (xiāngshēng xiāngkè).

What is my element?

Look at the last digit of your birth year, counted from Chinese New Year: 0 or 1 is Metal, 2 or 3 Water, 4 or 5 Wood, 6 or 7 Fire, 8 or 9 Earth. The year’s heavenly stem sets it: 甲 and 乙 are wood, 丙 and 丁 fire, 戊 and 己 earth, 庚 and 辛 metal, 壬 and 癸 water. Born in January or early February? You may belong to the year before; the Chinese zodiac page counts it from your exact birthday.

What are the five elements in Chinese medicine?

Each element goes with one of the 五脏 (wǔzàng), the five organs, and a feeling: wood the liver 肝 and anger 怒, fire the heart 心 and joy 喜, earth the spleen 脾 and worry 思, metal the lungs 肺 and grief 悲, water the kidneys 肾 and fear 恐. It is how the tradition explains the body, not medical advice.

Why are the planets named after the five elements?

The five planets seen without a telescope were each given an element: 木星 (mùxīng, the wood star) is Jupiter, 火星 Mars, 土星 Saturn, 金星 Venus and 水星 Mercury. The days of the week in Japanese still use them; Chinese numbers its days instead.

Can’t hear it?

Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead.

More on Chinese culture

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the chart is the classical one.