tiān​gān​dì​zhī

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

  1. Heavenly Stems
    The Ten Heavenly Stems, used in ancient Chinese calendar systems and as ordinal numbers to indicate order or rank; often used in combination with the 地支 dì​zhī.
  2. twelve earthly branches
    The twelve signs used in ancient Chinese calculations of time and order, often paired with the 天干 tiān​gān to form a sixty-year cycle.