How to Write 亥 (hài) — Meaning “the 12th Earthly Branch (representing the pig)”

Imagine a pig wearing a hat: the top 亠 is the hat, the central line is the pig's body, and the two bottom strokes are its legs and curly tail. This silly image helps you recall that 亥 means "pig" in the Chinese zodiac.

Remember the stroke order: dot, horizontal, left-falling, vertical hook, left-falling, right-falling. A common mistake is writing the vertical hook as a straight line or mixing up the last two strokes—the left-falling must come before the right-falling.

亥 has a vertical hook (⺄) in the middle, while 㐬 has a different bottom with a curved stroke and 㐭 uses a straight vertical line. Unlike 亥, those characters are very rare and not used in common words or zodiac contexts.

亥 appears in time expressions like 亥时 (9 p.m.–11 p.m.), in the zodiac as 亥年 (Year of the Pig), and in the historical event 辛亥革命 (Xinhai Revolution). Culturally, the pig symbolizes wealth and comfort, and 亥 finishes the 12-year zodiac cycle.

Common words containing 亥 include: 亥时 (hài shí) — the period from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.; 辛亥革命 (xīn hài gé mìng) — The Xinhai Revolution (1911).; 亥年 (hài nián) — Year of the Pig.