"Phương tây không có khái niệm về con giáp như chúng ta .Trên thế giới thì chỉ có châu á chúng ta là có khái niệm về 12 con giáp (tí ,sửu,dần, mẹo ,thìn ,tị ,ngọ ,mùi ,thân ,dậu, tuất ,hợi). Tuy vậy, phương tây lại có truyền thuyết về 12 cung Hoàng Đạo (cung Nhân Mã ,Ma Kết ,Bạch Dương, Kim Ngưu, Song Tử, Cự Giải, Sư Tử, Xứ Nữ, Thiên Bình ,Thiên Yết,Bảo Bình ,Song Ngư) " - YH hỏi đáp
Google search với các khóa từ sau bạn sẽ dễ dàng tìm được tên các con vật trong 12 con Giáp bằng tiếng Anh : "The Chinese Zodiac" hay "Twelve-year cycle", hoặc "12 Animal signs". Các con giáp dịch sang tiếng Anh ta có các từ sau:
- Tí: Rat
- Sửu: Ox
- Dần: Tiger
- Mão: Cat/Hare/Rabbit
- Thìn: Dragon
- Tị: Snake
- Ngọ: Horse
- Mùi: Goat/Sheep
- Thân: Monkey
- Dậu: Rooster (Korean="chicken")
- Tuất: Dog
- Hợi: Boar/Pig
Cũng là Mão (/mao/) nhưng hình như chỉ VN chúng ta là Mèo, còn lại là Thỏ thay vì mèo. Và một số nước khác thuộc Châu Á thay vì là "dê" thì là "Cừu".
Cùng đọc một bài viết tiếng Anh về 12 Con Giáp:
The Asian Zodiac, based on the lunar year cycle, is shared by the Japanese, the Chinese, and other people worldwide. Like the Western Zodiac, the Asian Zodiac is based in part on the idea that people born in the same time period tend to share certain personality traits. While, the Western Zodiac assigns astrological signs based on the month in which a person was born, the Asian Zodiac assigns astrological signs based on the year in which a person was born. In the Asian Zodiac, each year has a corresponding animal sign that repeats in twelve-year cycles. The lunar year typically begins in late January or early February each year.
A Chinese folktale explains why the zodiac signs, or animals, are arranged in the order they appear:
Once upon a time, the Emperor called all the animals to him in a great race. The Emperor said he would name a year for the first twelve animals to reach him, in the order in which they arrived.
Early on the day of the race, the cat and rat (who were best friends at the time) decided to ask the ox to carry them across the wide river to the Emperor. The ox agreed to help them. Just after the three animals entered the river, however, the scheming rat pushed the cat into the water. The ox and rat crossed the river safely, but just as they reached the shore, the rat hopped off the ox and rushed ahead to be the first animal to reach the Emperor. The ox, then, was the second animal to reach the Emperor.
Meanwhile, the cat struggled to swim across the river. One by one, ten other animals reached the Emperor and had years named after them.
Finally, the tired, wet cat managed to cross the river and reach the Emperor...but it was too late. The Emperor had already named all twelve years for the animals who arrived before the cat. The cat was very disappointed—and utterly furious at her friend the rat for betraying her. Because of this, cats and rats remain enemies to this day.
Alternate versions of this story exist. In one version, it is Buddha or a god who calls the animals to him. In another version, the rat “forgets” to wake the cat on the day of the race and the lazy cat sleeps through the entire contest. In all versions the animals arrive in the same order, and the years are named accordingly.
