The twelve animals of the Japanese zodiac: history, tales and differences between countries

Il est aussi le messager de Tenjin, dieu des études.

Être in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.

Les signes ont également servi à désigner les heures et les directions.

The passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.

Le système s’est développé dans la Chine ancienne.

The passé composé of a pronominal verb (se + verb) always uses être as auxiliary (il s’est diffusé / elles se sont réunies). Se changes with the subject: me, te, se, nous, vous. The past participle usually agrees with the subject in gender and number.

un animal puissant qui aidait aux travaux des champs.

The imparfait describes states, background, habits and actions in progress in the past (il était, elle avait, ils pensaient). Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons, and add -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient. If the passé composé gives “the event itself”, the imparfait paints “the situation at the time”.

Dans My JAPANITIES, vous trouverez ces douze animaux comme icônes de profil.

The futur simple means “will do” or “is planned to”. Add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive (participer → il participera). Watch the irregular stems: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, pouvoir → pourr-, voir → verr-. In the news it is used for fixed plans and outlooks.

Depuis, le Chat poursuivrait le Rat.

The conditional expresses possibility, supposition, unconfirmed information and polite requests (“would”, “might”). It uses the same stem as the future and the same endings as the imparfait (-ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient): pouvoir → il pourrait. In the news it is used to avoid asserting, as in “is reported to…” or “there is a possibility…”.

Comme « saru » se prononce comme « partir » (去る), il sert à souhaiter que les malheurs s’éloignent.

The subjunctive expresses wish, need, purpose, doubt and feeling rather than “fact”. It is used inside a clause with que. Triggers: il faut que (must), pour que / afin que (so that), bien que / quoique (although), avant que (before), souhaiter que, vouloir que and others. Formation: stem of the ils present minus -ent + -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. Irregular: être → soit, avoir → ait, aller → aille, faire → fasse, pouvoir → puisse, savoir → sache.

2026 est l’année du Cheval (午, uma).

The passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).

Retrouvez votre animal selon votre année de naissance.

The imperative expresses commands, requests and advice. It has no subject: the sentence starts with the verb (Consultez les informations.). The vous form ends in -ez, nous in -ons (Restons prudents.), and tu in -e for -er verbs (Consulte). It is very common in notices and warnings (Vérifiez, Consultez, Restez informé).

Il ne s’agissait pas, à l’origine, d’un horoscope de personnalité fondé sur de petits animaux.

A pronominal verb is used with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous) before the verb. It can mean “do to oneself”, “be done” or “do to each other”. In the news, se traduire (to result in), se tenir (to take place), s’agir de (to be a matter of) and se diffuser (to spread) are frequent. The pronoun changes with the subject (il se tient / ils se tiennent / je me souviens).

Il ne s’agissait pas, à l’origine, d’un horoscope de personnalité fondé sur de petits animaux.

Normally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.

Les années vont de 1900 à 2028, selon l’usage japonais courant (début d’année au 1er janvier).

Selon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.

On ne peut pas réduire sa transmission au Japon à une date unique.

Put a base-form verb after pouvoir. Peut means “can” or “may”; the conditional pourrait gives a more reserved possibility, “might”. It does not necessarily mean implementation is settled.

Les accouchements des chiennes étant réputés faciles, on noue une ceinture de grossesse (haraobi) le jour du Chien du cinquième mois de grossesse, pour souhaiter un accouchement paisible.

This is the purpose, “in order to…”. Put the base form of a verb after pour. The purpose stated here is separate from whether the effect was actually achieved.

Il ne s’agit donc pas de choisir librement parmi 10 × 12 possibilités.

It explains what something is about: “it is a matter of…”. The il is not a particular man but a formal subject of this construction. The negative il ne s’agit pas de means “this is not about…”.

最初から、かわいい動物の性格占いだったわけではありません。

These forms limit and deny an interpretation: “it does not necessarily follow” or “that is not what is meant”. They do not necessarily deny every fact in the sentence. Read what is being denied together with the earlier part.

10×12＝120通りを自由に組み合わせる方式ではありません。

They negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.

殷代の甲骨文には、日を数えるための十干十二支の組み合わせが見られます。

ため is used for both reason and purpose. “成立ではないため” is a reason and “運転手を守るため” a purpose. Decide from the whole sentence whether what precedes is a cause or a goal.

十二支は東アジアなどに広まり、地域の動物や文化と結び付きました。

“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.

干支の仕組みは古代中国で発達しました。

In “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.

子どもがたくさん生まれることから、「子孫繁栄」の縁起のよい動物とされています。

と takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.