民俗学家说是哪种羊并不重要，代表吉祥的是“羊”这个汉字，而不是具体的哪一种动物。

"This 'yang' is fictional. It does not refer to any specific kind (of sheep or goat)," Zhao Shu, a researcher with the Beijing Research Institute of Culture and History, told AFP.

北京历史文化研究所的赵树告诉法新社记者：“我们所说的‘羊’是虚构的，不指代任何一种羊、既不是绵羊也不是山羊。”

"Yang" is a component of the written Chinese character "xiang", which means auspiciousness, and the two were interchangeable in ancient Chinese, experts say.

“羊"是汉字“祥”的组成部分，“祥”代表着吉祥。专家称，这两个汉字在古代是通用的。

It is also a part of the character "shan", which counts kindness and benevolence as among its meanings.

“羊”也是汉字“善”的组成部分，“善”代表着善良、仁慈。

"Therefore 'yang' is a symbol of... blessing and fortune and represents good things," said Yin Hubin, an ethnology researcher with the China Academy of Social Sciences, a government think-tank.

中国社会科学院研究院尹虎彬说，“所以‘羊’代表着祝福和财富、代表着祥瑞。”

A Google search suggests that in English, "year of the sheep" is the most common phrasing.

谷歌搜索的调查表明，在英文中“year of the sheep”是最常用的搭配。

【山羊or绵羊？哭晕的“歪果仁”终于明白了！】相关文章：

★ 这个售价650美元的“思考箱”在推特上火了！里面都有啥？

★ 什么颜色最让人放松?

★ 德国称2022年前关闭所有核电站

★ 迪士尼又要拍真人版的经典动画，这次是钟楼怪人

★ Wi-Fi到底代表什么？

★ Facebook要研发自己的数字货币

★ 世界第一辆水陆两栖冰淇淋车

★ 办公室里最让人分心的是什么？同事聊天排第二，第一是……

★ 酒精会在体内停留多久?

★ 移民潮下的“人才浪费”