干支と星座 – 12 Japanese & European Zodiac Signs
New Year’s Letter
Happy New Year! I wish you will have wonderful days in 2016!
In Japan we send letters called “年賀状 (nengajou)” as new year’s letter. We send it to friends and also to the business companies (partners and clients…etc). The greetings and phrases are different a little from those we use in life.
Greetings for cerebrating a new year.
| あけましておめでとうございます。 akemashite omedetou gozaimasu |
| Happy New Year |
| 謹賀新年 kinga shinen |
| Happy New Year (formal / used only for letters) |
| 去年はお世話になりました kyonen wa osewa ni narimashita |
| Thank you for everything last year |
| ことしもよろしくおねがいします kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu |
| I look forward to seeing you again this year. |
| 良いお年を。 you otoshi wo |
| I wish you good luck for the next year! |
干支（Eto) / Oriental Zodiac signs
2016 is the year of Monkey (申年 saru-doshi) and I drew the pictures in my Nengajou. Japanese zodiac animal changes every year following the oriental zodiac sign. Next year is the year of cook (酉年 tori-dosh). I remembered them like a song, Ne~Ushi~Tora~Uhh~Tatsu~Mi~….brrr…
干支 （eto) / Japanese zodiac signs
| Animal | Kanji | Nihongo | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐭 | 子 | ね | Mouse |
| 🐮 | 丑 | うし | Ox |
| 🐯 | 虎 | とら | Tiger |
| 🐰 | 卯 | う | Hare |
| 🐲 | 辰 | たつ | Dragon |
| 🐍 | 巳 | み | Serpent |
| 🐴 | 午 | うま | Horse |
| 🐏 | 未 | ひつじ | Sheep |
| 🐵 | 申 | さる | Monkey |
| 🐔 | 酉 | とり | Cook |
| 🐶 | 戌 | いぬ | Dog |
| 🐗 | 亥 | い | Pig |
What is your Japanese zodiac sign?
A: あなたの 干支は なんですか？
anata no ETO wa nandesuka?
What is your ETO(Japanese zodiac sign)?
B: ねずみ です。あなたは？
nezumi desu. anata wa?
My zodiac animal is mouse. How about you?
A: わたしは亥年うまれです。
watashi wa inoshishi-doshi umare desu.
I was born in the year of Pig.
Japanese Zodiac Chart
| Zodiac Animal |
Kanji Romaji |
Year of Birth | |
| 🐭 Mouse | 子 (ne) | 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 | |
| 🐮 Ox | 丑 (ushi) | 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 | |
| 🐯 Tiger | 寅 (tora) | 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 | |
| 🐰 Hare | 卯 (u) | 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 | |
| 🐲 Dragon | 辰 (tatsu) | 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 | |
| 🐍 Snake | 巳 (mi) | 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 | |
| 🐴 Horse | 午 (uma) | 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 | |
| 🐏 Sheep | 未 (hitsuji) | 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 | |
| 🐵 Monkey | 申 (saru) | 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 | |
| 🐔 Rooster | 酉 (tori) | 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 | |
| 🐶 Dog | 戌 (inu) | 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 | |
| 🐗 Boar | 亥 (i) | 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019 | |
2016 is the year of Monkey. We call it 申年（saru-doshi) which means the year of Monkey.
- 子年 (nezumi-doshi)
- 丑年 (ushi-doshi)
- 寅年 (tora-doshi)
- 卯年 (usagi-doshi)
- 辰年 (tatsu-doshi)
- 巳年 (hebi-doshi)
- 午年 (uma-doshi)
- 未年 (hitsuji-doshi)
- 申年 (saru-doshi)
- 酉年 (tori-doshi)
- 戌年 (inu-doshi)
- 亥年 (inoshishi-doshi)
星座 (seiza) / Zodiac signs
| Sign | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| ♈️ | おひつじ座 ohitsuji-za |
Aries アリエス |
| ♉️ | おうし座 oushi-za |
Taurus タウラス |
| ♊️ | ふたご座 futago-za |
Gemini ジェミニ |
| ♋️ | かに座 kani-za |
Cancer キャンサー |
| ♌️ | しし座 shishi-za |
Leo レオ |
| ♍️ | おとめ座 otome-za |
Virgo バルゴ |
| ♎️ | てんびん座 tenbin-za |
Libra リブラ |
| ♏️ | さそり座 sasori-za |
Scorpius スコーピオン |
| ♐️ | いて座 ite-za |
Sagittarius サジタリウス |
| ♑️ | やぎ座 yagi-za |
Capricorn カプリコン |
| ♒️ | みずがめ座 mizugame-za |
Aquarius アクエリアス |
| ♓️ | うお座 uo-za |
Pisces ピスケス |
What is “Ophiuchus” in Japanese?
The 13th zodiac sign “Ophiuchus” ⛎ is “へびつかい座 (hebitsukai-za)” in Japanese.
How to write New Year’s letter (Nengajou)
How to write the letter Nengajou looks difficult but it’s simple, we write TO and FROM (off course!). This is a sample format.
You need to remember that the name of address should be added 様(same) or 殿(done) to show the respect.
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