Definitions
10th earthly branch: 5-7 p.m., 8th solar month (8th September-7th October), year of the Rooster; ancient Chinese compass point: 270° (west)
Etymology
Pictograph of a container for wine.
About
The character 酉 is a pictograph originating from depictions of a narrow-necked, round-bodied wine vessel used in ancient brewing and storage. As a standalone character, it refers to this container, explaining its role as the semantic radical in characters related to alcohol and fermentation, such as 醉 (drunk) and 酿 (brewing). Beyond this literal meaning, 酉 was adopted early in Chinese history as the tenth of the twelve Earthly Branches, a system used to order years, months, days, and hours. In this chronological context, it corresponds to the Rooster in the zodiac and denotes the time period from five to seven in the evening.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
现在正是酉时。
他是酉年出生的。
酉时太阳下山了。
很多人在酉时下班。
酉年通常有闰月。
在酉时，天空常常是橙色的。
根据传统，酉鸡代表诚实和守信。
酉时是一天中工作结束的时候。