--- title: "The Five Elements in Chinese (五行): Chart, Cycles, Colours and Meanings With Pinyin" description: "五行, the five elements: 木 wood, 火 fire, 土 earth, 金 metal and 水 water, with a chart of their colours, seasons, organs and flavours, how they feed and overcome each other, and 68 words with pinyin and sound." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-five-elements" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Free · 68 words # The five elements in Chinese [Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E4%BA%94%E8%A1%8C%20%E6%9C%A8%20%E7%81%AB%20%E5%9C%9F%20%E9%87%91%20%E6%B0%B4%20%E7%9B%B8%E7%94%9F%20%E7%9B%B8%E5%85%8B%20%E7%9B%B8%E7%94%9F%E7%9B%B8%E5%85%8B%20%E9%98%B4%E9%98%B3%20%E9%A3%8E%E6%B0%B4%20%E7%94%9F%E8%BE%B0%E5%85%AB%E5%AD%97%20%E4%BA%94%E8%89%B2%20%E9%9D%92%20%E7%BA%A2%20%E9%BB%84%20%E7%99%BD%20%E9%BB%91%20%E6%98%A5%20%E5%A4%8F%20%E7%A7%8B%20%E5%86%AC%20%E4%BA%94%E6%96%B9%20%E4%B8%9C%20%E5%8D%97%20%E4%B8%AD%20%E8%A5%BF%20%E5%8C%97%20%E4%BA%94%E8%84%8F%20%E8%82%9D%20%E5%BF%83%20%E8%84%BE%20%E8%82%BA%20%E8%82%BE%20%E6%80%92%20%E5%96%9C%20%E6%80%9D%20%E6%82%B2%20%E6%81%90%20%E4%BA%94%E5%91%B3%20%E9%85%B8%20%E8%8B%A6%20%E7%94%98%20%E8%BE%9B%20%E5%92%B8%20%E6%9C%A8%E6%98%9F%20%E7%81%AB%E6%98%9F%20%E5%9C%9F%E6%98%9F%20%E9%87%91%E6%98%9F%20%E6%B0%B4%E6%98%9F%20%E5%9B%9B%E8%B1%A1%20%E9%9D%92%E9%BE%99%20%E6%9C%B1%E9%9B%80%20%E7%99%BD%E8%99%8E%20%E7%8E%84%E6%AD%A6%20%E5%A4%A9%E5%B9%B2%20%E5%9C%B0%E6%94%AF%20%E5%B9%B2%E6%94%AF%20%E7%94%B2%20%E4%B9%99%20%E4%B8%99%20%E4%B8%81%20%E6%88%8A%20%E5%B7%B1%20%E5%BA%9A%20%E8%BE%9B%20%E5%A3%AC%20%E7%99%B8) 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 in | 4, 5 | 6, 7 | 8, 9 | 0, 1 | 2, 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 wǔ五xíng行 the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) mù木 wood; timber huǒ火 fire tǔ土 soil; earth jīn金 metal shuǐ水 water ## How they work xiāng相shēng生 to engender one another xiāng相kè克 mutually antagonistic; incompatible xiāng相shēng生xiāng相kè克 mutual generation and mutual restraint (of the five elements) yīn阴yáng阳 yin and yang fēng风shuǐ水 feng shui; geomancy shēng生chén辰bā八zì字 the eight characters of one's birth time ## Colours wǔ五sè色 the five colors qīng青 blue or green hóng红 red huáng黄 yellow bái白 white hēi黑 black; dark ## Seasons and directions chūn春 spring (season) xià夏 summer qiū秋 autumn; fall dōng冬 winter wǔ五fāng方 the five directions (east, west, south, north and center); all quarters dōng东 east nán南 south zhōng中 middle; center xī西 west běi北 north ## Organs and feelings wǔ五zàng脏 the five internal organs gān肝 liver xīn心 heart pí脾 spleen fèi肺 lung shèn肾 kidney nù怒 anger; rage xǐ喜 happy; joyful sī思 to think; to consider bēi悲 sad; sorrowful kǒng恐 to fear; afraid ## Flavours wǔ五wèi味 the five flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty) suān酸 sour kǔ苦 bitter gān甘 sweet xīn辛 hot; spicy xián咸 salty ## Planets and guardians mù木xīng星 Jupiter (planet) huǒ火xīng星 Mars (planet) tǔ土xīng星 Saturn (planet) jīn金xīng星 Venus (planet) shuǐ水xīng星 Mercury (planet) sì四xiàng象 the Four Symbols (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise) qīng青lóng龙 Azure Dragon (guardian of the east) zhū朱què雀 Vermilion Bird (symbol of the south in Chinese astrology) bái白hǔ虎 White Tiger (symbol of the west in Chinese astrology) xuán玄wǔ武 Black Tortoise (mythical guardian of the north) ## Heavenly stems tiān天gān干 the ten Heavenly Stems dì地zhī支 Earthly Branches (12 cyclic characters) gān干zhī支 the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (sexagenary cycle) jiǎ甲 1st heavenly stem yǐ乙 second (of ten heavenly stems); B bǐng丙 third of the ten Heavenly Stems dīng丁 4th heavenly stem; fourth (in a series) wù戊 fifth of the ten Heavenly Stems jǐ己 sixth of the ten heavenly stems gēng庚 seventh heavenly stem xīn辛 eighth of the ten Heavenly Stems rén壬 ninth of the ten Heavenly Stems 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 - [Chinese zodiac: your animal and element](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac) - [Chinese philosophy terms](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-philosophy-terms) - [Chinese medicine terms](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-medicine-terms) - [Planets and stars in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-planets-and-stars) - [What colours mean in China](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/chinese-colors-meaning) Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the chart is the classical one.