In the 12-year Chinese zodiac, the Earthly Branch Yin is associated with the Tiger.
Yin, written 寅 and pronounced yín in Mandarin, is the third of the 12 Earthly Branches. Each branch is paired with one zodiac animal in a repeating sequence: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The third position therefore links Yin with the Tiger.
The branch also carries traditional calendrical associations. Yin is connected with the Wood element, the yang polarity, the northeast direction, and approximately 3–5 a.m. in the double-hour system. In the annual zodiac cycle, Tiger years recur every 12 years, although the exact Gregorian date of the year’s beginning follows the Chinese calendar.
A common confusion is treating Yin as the animal itself or assuming it means “yin” in the yin-yang polarity. The branch name is Yin, while its traditional polarity association is yang; the animal assigned to it is the Tiger.