Glossary
The main Chinese terms on this site, with tone marks and a plain meaning.
陰陽Yin and Yang · yīn yángThe two opposite sides of every change.五行Five Elements · wǔ xíngWood, fire, earth, metal and water, which produce and control one another.天干Heavenly Stems · tiān gānTen signs that count days and years.地支Earthly Branches · dì zhīTwelve signs for months, hours and the zodiac animals.六十甲子Sixty Cycle · liù shí jiǎ zǐStems and branches paired in a cycle of sixty.納音Na Yin · nà yīnA poetic element shared by each pair in the sixty cycle.節氣Solar Terms · jié qìTwenty-four points of the year set by the sun.二十八宿Lunar Mansions · èr shí bā xiùTwenty-eight star groups along the moon’s path.八字Eight Characters · bā zìThe stems and branches of your year, month, day and hour of birth.日主Day Master · rì zhǔThe stem of your day pillar. It stands for you in the chart.十神Ten Gods · shí shénThe ten ways another stem can relate to your Day Master.藏干Hidden Stems · cáng gānStems held inside each branch.大運Luck Cycles · dà yùnTen-year stages that follow the month pillar.流年Yearly Pillar · liú niánThe stem and branch of a given year, read against your chart.神煞Stars · shén shàNamed signs, lucky or not, found from fixed rules.空亡Void · kōng wángTwo branches left out of each group of ten days.合沖Clashes and Unions · hé chōngHow stems and branches join, clash and harm one another.紫微斗數Purple Star Astrology · zǐ wēi dǒu shùA chart of twelve palaces filled with named stars.命宮Life Palace · mìng gōngThe palace of a Purple Star chart that stands for you.八卦Eight Trigrams · bā guàEight signs of three lines each.六十四卦64 Hexagrams · liù shí sì guàThe eight trigrams paired into signs of six lines.爻Line · yáoOne line of a hexagram, solid for yang or broken for yin.變爻Changing Line · biàn yáoA line that turns into its opposite in a casting.用神Use god · yòng shénThe line or element a reading turns on. In Liu Yao it is picked by the question; in BaZi it usually means the element the day master most needs.世應Self and other lines · shì yìngIn a Liu Yao hexagram, the line that stands for you and the one that stands for the other side, two places apart.月建Month branch · yuè jiànThe branch of the month the cast falls in. It rules for that month and can lift or press down every line.蓍草Yarrow · shī cǎoFifty stalks counted to cast a hexagram.梅花易數Plum Blossom · méi huā yì shùA way of casting from numbers and the moment.小六壬Xiao Liu Ren · xiǎo liù rénA quick answer counted on six positions.擲筊Moon Blocks · zhì jiǎoTwo curved blocks thrown to ask a yes or no question.黃曆Almanac · huáng lìA daily guide to what is good or bad to do.建除Twelve Officers · jiàn chúTwelve day types, from Establish to Close, used in the almanac.擇吉Date Selection · zé jíChoosing a good day for a task.羅盤Luopan · luó pánThe ringed compass of feng shui.命卦Kua Number · mìng guàA trigram worked out from your birth year.八宅Eight Mansions · bā zháiA feng shui school of four good and four bad directions.九宮Nine Palaces · jiǔ gōngThe Luo Writing laid out as nine directions.河圖洛書River Chart, Luo Writing · hé tú luò shūTwo old diagrams of numbers.
How to say the sounds
Chinese words here are written in pinyin. Most letters sound as you expect, but these do not.
- q
- like ch in cheeseqì sounds like chee
- x
- like sh in sheep, with a smilexīn sounds like sheen
- zh
- like j in jumpzhī sounds like jr
- c
- like ts in catscān sounds like tsan
- z
- like ds in bedszǐ sounds like dz
- j
- like j in jeepjiǎ sounds like jyah
- ü
- like the French ulǜ sounds like lew with rounded lips