| 春生，夏长，秋收，冬藏 |
chūn shēng , xià zhǎng , qiū shōu , dōng cáng |
sow in spring, develop in summer, harvest in autumn, store in winter (idiom) |
| 春 |
chūn |
old variant of 春 |
| 春 |
Chūn |
surname Chun |
| 春 |
chūn |
spring (season) / gay / joyful / youthful / love / lust / life |
| 生 |
shēng |
to be born / to give birth / life / to grow / raw / uncooked / student |
| 夏 |
Xià |
the Xia or Hsia dynasty c. 2000 BC / Xia of the Sixteen Kingdoms (407-432) / surname Xia |
| 夏 |
xià |
summer |
| 长 |
cháng |
length / long / forever / always / constantly |
| 长 |
zhǎng |
chief / head / elder / to grow / to develop / to increase / to enhance |
| 秋 |
Qiū |
surname Qiu |
| 秋 |
qiū |
autumn / fall / harvest time |
| 秋 |
qiū |
old variant of 秋 |
| 秋 |
qiū |
used in 秋千 |
| 秋收 |
qiū shōu |
fall harvest / to reap |
| 收 |
shōu |
to receive / to accept / to collect / to put away / to restrain / to stop / in care of (used on address line after name) |
| 冬 |
dōng |
winter |
| 冬 |
Dōng |
surname Dong |
| 冬 |
dōng |
(onom.) beating a drum / rat-a-tat |
| 藏 |
Zàng |
Tibet / abbr. for Xizang or Tibet Autonomous Region 西藏 |
| 藏 |
cáng |
to conceal / to hide away / to harbor / to store / to collect |
| 藏 |
zàng |
storehouse / depository / Buddhist or Taoist scripture |