Answer to Don’t Put Your Foot in Your Mouth When Discussing Zodiacs!

Answer: B
The correct answer is B. “属于(shǔyú)” means “belong to” or “the category of something.” There are 12 kinds of animals within the Chinese Zodiac, including 鼠(shǔ) rat, 牛(niú) rat, 虎 (hǔ) tiger, 兔(tù) rabbit, 龙 (lóng) dragon, 蛇(shé) snake, 马(mǎ) horse, 羊 (yáng) sheep, 猴 (hóu) monkey, 鸡 (jī) rooster, 狗 (gǒu) dog, and 猪(zhū) pig. In other words, each animal “属于(shǔyú) belongs to” the Chinese Zodiac. So when we say an animal belongs to the Chinese Zodiac, we should use “属于(shǔyú).”
Gǒu shǔyú shíèr shēngxiāo.
狗     属于  十二    生肖。
The dog is one of the 12 Zodiacs.

Zhè kuài dì shì shǔyú zhèngfǔ de.
这    块   地 是  属于    政府     的。
This land belongs to the government.

Zhōngguó shǔyú yàzhōu.
中国           属于    亚洲。
China is a part of Asia.

But when you are referring to the year of the zodiac you were born in. You must use the character “属(shǔ).” For example, 我属羊(wǒ shǔ yáng), 我哥哥属蛇 (wǒ gēge shǔ shé). Never use “属于(shǔyú)” when you say the year of the Zodiac you were born in, such as “我属于猪(wǒ shǔyú zhū), because it means you are a pig or you are like a pig!
Jīnnián shì hóu nián, suǒyǐ jīnnián chūshēng de háizi shǔ hóu.
今年     是   猴   年，所以   今年     出生       的 孩子  属   猴。
It is the year of the monkey, so babies born this year will have the monkey zodiac.

Do You Know the 12 Animals of the Chinese Zodiac?
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