Chinese character for goat (sheep): 羊 (yáng)
The Chinese character for goat and sheep is 羊 (yáng). It covers sheep, goats and rams, and is the eighth animal of the Chinese zodiac, called the Goat or Sheep. It appears in 羊年 (yáng nián) and 山羊 (shānyáng, goat).
How 羊 is built
羊 is a pictograph of a sheep's head seen from the front: the two short strokes on top are the horns, and the horizontal lines and vertical stroke are the face. In ancient China the sheep was a symbol of goodness and good fortune, which is why 羊 appears in 美 (beautiful), 善 (kind) and 祥 (auspicious). It is identical in simplified and traditional Chinese.
羊 yáng · sheep
- 丷ha — kwukyel
- 丶 — dot
Origin hint: A sheep's head with horns (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 羊 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 羊 is identical in both scripts and means both sheep and goat; 山羊 specifies a goat.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for goat (sheep)?
羊 (yáng) means “sheep”.
How do you pronounce 羊?
羊 is pronounced yáng.