Japanese symbol for “rooster”
酉
とり
Romaji: tori
the Rooster (tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac); the Cock; the Chicken; the Bird
In Japanese, rooster is 酉, read とり (tori).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n the Rooster (tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac); the Cock; the Chicken; the Bird
- n hour of the Rooster (around 6pm, 5-7pm, or 6-8pm)
- n west
- n eight month of the lunar calendar
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “rooster”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 雄鶏 | おんどり ondori | cock; rooster |
| こけこっこう | こけこっこう kokekokkou | cockerel; rooster |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 酉の市 | とりのいち torinoichi | tori-no-ichi (held at Ōtori Shrine on each day of the Rooster in November) |
| 酉年 | とりどし toridoshi | year of the Rooster; year of the Cock |
| 丁酉 | ひのととり hinototori | Fire Rooster (34th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1957, 2017, 2077) |
| 酉偏 | とりへん torihen | kanji "bird of the zodiac" radical (radical 164) |
| 辛酉 | かのととり kanototori | Metal Rooster (58th term of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1921, 1981, 2041) |
| 一の酉 | いちのとり ichinotori | first day of the cock in the eleventh month |
See also: Chinese symbol for “rooster”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.