Chinese zodiac calculator

The 12 Chinese zodiac animals and their years

The twelve animals come in a fixed order, and each one returns every 12 years. Every animal also carries its own element and is either yin or yang. Each year below begins at Chinese New Year, so a January birthday usually belongs to the previous animal, and an early February one often does.

When does the Chinese zodiac year start?

Chinese New Year, the first day of the lunar calendar, starts each Chinese zodiac year. It falls on the second new moon after the day of the December solstice, counting dates in Beijing time, which puts it between January 21 and February 20. From 1901 to 2050 the rule holds every year except 2034, when a rare extra month pushes the holiday to the third new moon.

Dates from the Hong Kong Observatory’s Gregorian and lunar calendar tables, checked against a new moon calculation from the NASA JPL DE421 ephemeris.

Born in January or February? Check the exact date

About one birthday in ten falls before that year’s Chinese New Year. From 1930 to 2030, 9.6% of all days sit in that gap, and anyone born in it belongs to the previous animal. A birthday on January 20, 1990 is a Snake, not a Horse, because the Horse year began a week later.

Shortcut rules can get this wrong. Taking the new moon closest to Lichun puts 1985 on January 21, while the Hong Kong Observatory dates it to February 20. Anyone born between those days is a Rat, not an Ox. This calculator uses the observatory’s dates for every year.

Chinese New Year or Lichun: two ways to start the year

Lichun, the start of spring, is the second common start of the Chinese year. It is the moment the Sun reaches 315° along the ecliptic, which in Beijing time falls on February 3, 4 or 5. Four Pillars of Destiny, the Chinese system also called BaZi, counts the year from Lichun, while the holiday and most popular charts follow the lunar calendar.

Because the two starts rarely match, they give different animals for about seven days in an average year. That is about 2% of all birthdays. If yours is one of them, the calculator shows both answers and the exact time Lichun arrived.

Five elements and the 60-year cycle

Each Chinese year joins one of twelve animals with one of five elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. A year’s element follows its last digit. Years ending in 4 or 5 are Wood, 6 or 7 Fire, 8 or 9 Earth, 0 or 1 Metal, and 2 or 3 Water. Even years are yang and odd years yin. Tradition gives each element its own mood.

• Wood stands for growth, kindness and new projects.
• Fire brings passion, warmth and a need to be seen.
• Earth gives patience, balance and common sense.
• Metal adds willpower, discipline and firm principles.
• Water carries intuition, flexibility and insight.

A year’s Chinese name pairs one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches, so 2026 is Bing-wu, the yang Fire stem with the Horse. The pairs line up again only after 60 years, and the Fire Horse year before 2026 was 1966. Folk belief in Japan held that Fire Horse women would be hot-tempered and bring bad luck to their husbands, and births there fell by about a quarter in 1966.

Your inner and secret animals

Your inner animal comes from your birth month and your secret animal from your birth hour. Popular books use these names for two of the Four Pillars, where the months follow the Sun rather than the Moon. Lichun around February 4 opens the Tiger month, about March 5 the Rabbit month, and so on, with the Ox month starting around January 5.

Hours come in twelve two-hour watches. The Rat holds 11 PM to 1 AM, the Ox 1 to 3 AM and the Tiger 3 to 5 AM, and the order runs on to the Pig at 9 to 11 PM. Tradition counts these hours by local solar time, which can differ from the clock by an hour or more during daylight saving time. This calculator uses the clock hour you enter.

Chinese zodiac compatibility

Chinese zodiac compatibility traditionally rests on three patterns. Four groups of three animals, spaced four years apart, are natural allies. Six pairs are secret friends who quietly support each other. Six pairs born six years apart sit opposite each other and clash.

• Allies Rat, Dragon and Monkey. Ox, Snake and Rooster. Tiger, Horse and Dog. Rabbit, Goat and Pig.
• Secret friends Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat.
• Clashes Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, Snake and Pig.

Read these as tradition, not a verdict on a relationship. For a fuller picture of a couple, the compatibility reading compares two birth charts, Chinese animals included.

Chinese and Western zodiac signs side by side

Your Chinese animal and your Western sign answer different questions. Your animal comes from your birth year and is shared by everyone born that lunar year. Your Western sign comes from your birthday and changes about once a month. Find yours with the zodiac sign calculator, or see your Sun, Moon and rising sign together in a birth chart.

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