Cultural reference · English

The 25 animal groups of jogo do bicho

The 100 two-digit numbers from 00 to 99 are divided into 25 consecutive groups of 4 numbers each. Each group carries a traditional animal name. The order below is fixed and has been stable since the 1892 origins. The Portuguese names are the canonical ones — the English names are the closest cultural equivalents.

Reading a winning number

Take the winning prize (a five-digit number from the Federal Lottery, e.g. 12,335). Look at the last two digits — here, 35. Find 35 in the table above: it's in group 09, Cobra / Snake. So "a snake came out" on that draw. Any bet placed on Cobra for that draw wins.

Note on group 25 (Cow) and 00

Group 25 (Vaca) covers 97, 98, 99, and — by tradition — 00. This resolves the apparent gap: numbers 00 through 99 map cleanly to 25 groups, with 00 wrapping to the last group. When a prize ends in 00, the winning animal is Vaca (Cow).

Continue reading

• The Dream Book — how dreams map to these animal groups.
• Rules and payouts — including how prize number 00 is resolved.
• History — why the animals, and why in this order.