---
title: "The 12 Chinese Hours (时辰) and the Organ Clock: Times, Animals and Organs From 子时 to 亥时"
description: "The twelve Chinese hours, 时辰, each two of our hours long: 子时 from 11 pm to 1 am through 午时 at noon to 亥时, with the zodiac animal and the organ of Chinese medicine for each, the five night watches 更, and 34 time words with pinyin and sound."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-hours"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 34 words

# The twelve Chinese hours (时辰)

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## 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

zǐ子

first of the twelve earthly branches

chǒu丑

chou (2nd Earthly Branch)

yín寅

third of the twelve Earthly Branches

mǎo卯

fourth of the twelve Earthly Branches

chén辰

chen (5th Earthly Branch)

sì巳

sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches

wǔ午

7th earthly branch

wèi未

8th earthly branch

shēn申

ninth of the twelve Earthly Branches

yǒu酉

tenth earthly branch

xū戌

eleventh earthly branch; 7-9 pm

hài亥

twelfth earthly branch

## Telling the old time

shí时chen辰

one of the twelve two-hour periods of the day (in old timekeeping)

dì地zhī支

Earthly Branches (12 cyclic characters)

tiān天gān干

the ten Heavenly Stems

kè刻

quarter (of an hour)

yī一kè刻zhōng钟

a quarter of an hour

gēng更

watch (one of five two-hour periods of the night)

wǔ五gēng更

fifth watch of the night (around 3 to 5 a.m.); just before dawn

dǎ打gēng更

to sound the night watches

gēng更fū夫

night watchman

shēng生chén辰bā八zì字

the eight characters of one's birth time

## Times of day today

líng凌chén晨

small hours; early morning before dawn

zǎo早shang上

morning

shàng上wǔ午

morning

zhōng中wǔ午

noon; midday

xià下wǔ午

afternoon

bàng傍wǎn晚

dusk; toward evening

huáng黄hūn昏

dusk; twilight

wǎn晚shang上

evening; night

wǔ午yè夜

midnight

zǐ子yè夜

midnight

## Sayings

sān三gēng更bàn半yè夜

in the middle of the night

bàn半yè夜sān三gēng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.

## Can’t hear it?

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## More on Chinese time

- [The Chinese zodiac animals](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac)
- [Chinese lunar calendar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-calendar)
- [The 24 solar terms](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-solar-terms)
- [Traditional Chinese medicine terms](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-medicine-terms)

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.