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Year of the Rabbit / Zodiac Sign
兔 is the character for rabbit or hare in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.
If you were born in the year of the rabbit, you...
Are gentle and full of sympathy.
Love to help others.
Enjoy a quiet life.
Are a good worker.
Are, however, a bit of a pushover.
See also our Chinese Zodiac page.
The Year of the Earth Rabbit
The Year of the Golden/Metal Rabbit
The Year of the Water Rabbit
The Year of the Fire Rabbit
The Year of the Wood Rabbit
1903 1963 2023
-or- The crafty rabbit has three different entrances to its lair
狡兔三窟 speaks to the cunning character of a sly rabbit. Such a rabbit will not have just one hole but rather a few entrances and exits from his liar.
About 2,250 years ago, a rich man told his assistant to go and buy something wonderful that he did not yet possess. He was a man that already had everything, so the assistant went to a local village that owed a great deal of money to the rich man. The assistant told the village elders that all debts were forgiven. All the villagers rejoiced and praised the rich man's name. The assistant returned to the rich man and told him he had purchased “benevolence” for him. The rich man was mildly amused but perhaps slightly confused by the action.
Sometime later, the rich man fell from the favor of the Emperor and was wiped out without a penny to his name. One day he was walking aimlessly and stumbled into the village where the debts had been forgiven. The villagers recognized the man and welcomed him with open arms, clothed, fed him, and gave him a place to live.
Without trying, the man had become like the sly and cunning rabbit. When his exit was blocked, he had another hole to emerge from - and was reborn. This story and idiom come from a book titled “The Amendment” - it's unclear whether this man actually existed or not. But the book did propel this idiom into common use in China.
Still today, this idiom about the rabbit is used in China when suggesting “backup plans,” alternate methods, and anyone with a good escape plan.
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your 兔 search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
兔 see styles |
tù tu4 t`u tu to うさぎ |
More info & calligraphy: Rabbit / Hare(kana only) rabbit; hare; coney; cony; lagomorph (esp. leporids) rabbit |
狡兔三窟 see styles |
jiǎo tù sān kū jiao3 tu4 san1 ku1 chiao t`u san k`u chiao tu san ku |
More info & calligraphy: A sly rabbit has three openings to its den |
兎 兔 see styles |
tù tu4 t`u tu rabitto らびっと |
variant of 兔[tu4] (kana only) rabbit; hare; coney; cony; lagomorph (esp. leporids); (out-dated or obsolete kana usage) (kana only) rabbit; hare; coney; cony; lagomorph (esp. leporids); (female given name) Rabitto śaśa; a rabbit; also a hare. The hare in the moon, hence 懷兎者 is the moon or śaśin. |
兔唇 see styles |
tù chún tu4 chun2 t`u ch`un tu chun |
hare lip (birth defect) |
兔子 see styles |
tù zi tu4 zi5 t`u tzu tu tzu |
hare; rabbit; CL:隻|只[zhi1] |
兔年 see styles |
tù nián tu4 nian2 t`u nien tu nien |
Year of the Rabbit (e.g. 2011) |
兔徑 兔径 see styles |
tù jìng tu4 jing4 t`u ching tu ching |
narrow winding path |
兔沢 see styles |
tozawa とざわ |
(personal name) Tozawa |
兔爸 see styles |
tù bà tu4 ba4 t`u pa tu pa |
toolbar (in computer software) (loanword) |
兔猻 兔狲 see styles |
tù sūn tu4 sun1 t`u sun tu sun |
Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) |
兔角 see styles |
tù jué tu4 jue2 t`u chüeh tu chüeh to kaku |
horns on a rabbit |
卯兔 see styles |
mǎo tù mao3 tu4 mao t`u mao tu |
Year 4, year of the Rabbit (e.g. 2011) |
捷兔 see styles |
jié tù jie2 tu4 chieh t`u chieh tu |
Hash House Harriers (international running club) |
海兔 see styles |
hǎi tù hai3 tu4 hai t`u hai tu |
sea hare (Aplysia) |
玉兔 see styles |
yù tù yu4 tu4 yü t`u yü tu |
the Jade Hare (legendary rabbit said to live in the Moon); the Moon |
米兔 see styles |
mǐ tù mi3 tu4 mi t`u mi tu |
(Internet slang) (loanword) #MeToo (movement against sexual harassment and assault) |
赤兔 see styles |
chì tù chi4 tu4 ch`ih t`u chih tu |
Red Hare, famous horse of the warlord Lü Bu 呂布|吕布[Lu:3 Bu4] in the Three Kingdoms era |
野兔 see styles |
yě tù ye3 tu4 yeh t`u yeh tu |
hare |
兔崽子 see styles |
tù zǎi zi tu4 zai3 zi5 t`u tsai tzu tu tsai tzu |
brat; bastard |
兔斯基 see styles |
tù sī jī tu4 si1 ji1 t`u ssu chi tu ssu chi |
Tuzki, a Chinese cartoon rabbit character used in emoticons and stickers, created in 2006 |
兔熱病 兔热病 see styles |
tù rè bìng tu4 re4 bing4 t`u je ping tu je ping |
tularemia; rabbit fever |
兔羔子 see styles |
tù gāo zi tu4 gao1 zi5 t`u kao tzu tu kao tzu |
see 兔崽子[tu4 zai3 zi5] |
天兔座 see styles |
tiān tù zuò tian1 tu4 zuo4 t`ien t`u tso tien tu tso |
Lepus (constellation) |
小白兔 see styles |
xiǎo bái tù xiao3 bai2 tu4 hsiao pai t`u hsiao pai tu |
bunny rabbit |
秣兔羅 秣兔罗 see styles |
mò tù luó mo4 tu4 luo2 mo t`u lo mo tu lo Batora |
Madhurā |
兔死狐悲 see styles |
tù sǐ hú bēi tu4 si3 hu2 bei1 t`u ssu hu pei tu ssu hu pei |
lit. if the rabbit dies, the fox grieves (idiom); fig. to have sympathy with a like-minded person in distress |
兔死狗烹 see styles |
tù sǐ gǒu pēng tu4 si3 gou3 peng1 t`u ssu kou p`eng tu ssu kou peng |
lit. to boil the hound once it caught the rabbit (idiom); fig. to get rid of sb once he has served his purpose |
守株待兔 see styles |
shǒu zhū dài tù shou3 zhu1 dai4 tu4 shou chu tai t`u shou chu tai tu |
lit. to guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits (idiom); to wait idly for opportunities; to trust to chance rather than show initiative |
東兔西烏 东兔西乌 see styles |
dōng tù xī wū dong1 tu4 xi1 wu1 tung t`u hsi wu tung tu hsi wu |
lit. the sun setting and the moon rising (idiom); fig. the passage of time |
龜毛兔角 see styles |
guī máo tù juě gui1 mao2 tu4 jue3 kuei mao t`u chüeh kuei mao tu chüeh |
hairs of tortoises and horns of rabbits |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Rabbit Hare | 兔 | usagi | tù / tu4 / tu | t`u / tu |
Earth Rabbit | 土兔 | tǔ tù / tu3 tu4 / tu tu / tutu | t`u t`u / tutu / tu tu | |
Golden/Metal Rabbit | 金兔 | jīn tù / jin1 tu4 / jin tu / jintu | chin t`u / chintu / chin tu | |
Water Rabbit | 水兔 | shuǐ tù / shui3 tu4 / shui tu / shuitu | shui t`u / shuitu / shui tu | |
Fire Rabbit | 火兔 | huǒ tù / huo3 tu4 / huo tu / huotu | huo t`u / huotu / huo tu | |
Wood Rabbit | 木兔 | mù tù / mu4 tu4 / mu tu / mutu | mu t`u / mutu / mu tu | |
Year of the Water Rabbit | 水兔年 | mizu usagi toshi mizuusagitoshi | shuǐ tù nián shui3 tu4 nian2 shui tu nian shuitunian | shui t`u nien shuitunien shui tu nien |
A sly rabbit has three openings to its den | 狡兔三窟 | jiǎo tù sān kū jiao3 tu4 san1 ku1 jiao tu san ku jiaotusanku | chiao t`u san k`u chiaotusanku chiao tu san ku |
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.