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The twelve Chinese hours (时辰)
The twelve hours, their animals and the organ clock
| Hour | Time | Animal | Organ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zi hour | 子时 zǐshí | 11 pm to 1 am | 鼠 rat | 胆 gallbladder |
| Chou hour | 丑时 chǒushí | 1 to 3 am | 牛 ox | 肝 liver |
| Yin hour | 寅时 yínshí | 3 to 5 am | 虎 tiger | 肺 lungs |
| Mao hour | 卯时 mǎoshí | 5 to 7 am | 兔 rabbit | 大肠 large intestine |
| Chen hour | 辰时 chénshí | 7 to 9 am | 龙 dragon | 胃 stomach |
| Si hour | 巳时 sìshí | 9 to 11 am | 蛇 snake | 脾 spleen |
| Wu hour | 午时 wǔshí | 11 am to 1 pm | 马 horse | 心 heart |
| Wei hour | 未时 wèishí | 1 to 3 pm | 羊 goat | 小肠 small intestine |
| Shen hour | 申时 shēnshí | 3 to 5 pm | 猴 monkey | 膀胱 bladder |
| You hour | 酉时 yǒushí | 5 to 7 pm | 鸡 rooster | 肾 kidneys |
| Xu hour | 戌时 xūshí | 7 to 9 pm | 狗 dog | 心包 pericardium |
| Hai hour | 亥时 hàishí | 9 to 11 pm | 猪 pig | 三焦 triple burner |
The twelve branches
子
first of the twelve earthly branches
丑
chou (2nd Earthly Branch)
寅
third of the twelve Earthly Branches
卯
fourth of the twelve Earthly Branches
辰
chen (5th Earthly Branch)
巳
sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches
午
7th earthly branch
未
8th earthly branch
申
ninth of the twelve Earthly Branches
酉
tenth earthly branch
戌
eleventh earthly branch; 7-9 pm
亥
twelfth earthly branch
Telling the old time
时辰
one of the twelve two-hour periods of the day (in old timekeeping)
地支
Earthly Branches (12 cyclic characters)
天干
the ten Heavenly Stems
刻
quarter (of an hour)
一刻钟
a quarter of an hour
更
watch (one of five two-hour periods of the night)
五更
fifth watch of the night (around 3 to 5 a.m.); just before dawn
打更
to sound the night watches
更夫
night watchman
生辰八字
the eight characters of one's birth time
Times of day today
凌晨
small hours; early morning before dawn
早上
morning
上午
morning
中午
noon; midday
下午
afternoon
傍晚
dusk; toward evening
黄昏
dusk; twilight
晚上
evening; night
午夜
midnight
子夜
midnight
Sayings
三更半夜
in the middle of the night
半夜三更
in the dead of night
What are the Chinese hours?
Old China split the day into twelve 时辰 (shíchen), each two of our hours long and named after one of the twelve earthly branches, 地支 (dìzhī): 子时 (zǐshí) runs from 11 pm to 1 am, 午时 (wǔshí) from 11 am to 1 pm, and so on round the clock. Each branch also has its zodiac animal, so 子时 is the hour of the rat and 午时 the hour of the horse.
Why does the Chinese day start at 11 pm?
The first hour, 子时, is centred on midnight, so it starts at 11 pm. That is why midnight is still 子夜 (zǐyè) and noon, the middle of 午时, is 中午 (zhōngwǔ): 上午 (shàngwǔ), morning, and 下午 (xiàwǔ), afternoon, are literally before and after 午.
What is the Chinese organ clock?
Chinese medicine teaches that qi flows through the body’s organs in a daily cycle, peaking in each organ for one 时辰: the gallbladder 胆 (dǎn) at 子时, the liver 肝 (gān) at 丑时, the lungs 肺 (fèi) at 寅时, and on round to the triple burner 三焦 (sānjiāo) at 亥时. It is a teaching of traditional medicine, not of modern science.
What are the night watches?
The night was split into five watches, 更 (gēng), from 7 pm to 5 am, called out by a watchman, 更夫 (gēngfū), with a drum or gong, 打更 (dǎgēng). The third watch, 三更 (sāngēng), is 11 pm to 1 am, so 三更半夜 (sāngēng bànyè) is the dead of night, and 五更 (wǔgēng), 3 to 5 am, is just before dawn.
What does 午时三刻 mean?
A 刻 (kè) is a quarter of an hour, so 午时三刻 (wǔshí sān kè) is three quarters into the noon hour, around 11:45 am, when the sun is near its highest. In historical dramas it is the hour of executions. Today 一刻钟 (yí kè zhōng) still means fifteen minutes, as in 三点一刻, a quarter past three.
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More on Chinese time
Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the hours, animals and night watches are traditional timekeeping, and the organ hours a teaching of traditional Chinese medicine.