Chinese astrology · 12 animals
Your Chinese zodiac sign is the animal of the year you were born, but the Chinese year doesn't start on January 1. It begins at Lunar New Year, somewhere between late January and mid-February. Enter your birth date and we'll find your animal, element and yin or yang polarity for the correct year. Add your birth time to see your hour animal, or a second date to check your Chinese zodiac compatibility.
In Chinese astrology, every year belongs to one of twelve animals: the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (also called the Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The animal of your birth year is your Chinese zodiac sign, and it describes your character, the way you approach relationships and your outlook on life.
The twelve-year animal cycle combines with a ten-year cycle of five elements, which is why the same animal returns with the same element only once every sixty years.
Each animal has its own page covering personality, love life, best matches and the 2027 forecast.
The Resourceful Strategist · Quick-witted, Resourceful, Sociable, Thrifty
The Steadfast Builder · Patient, Dependable, Methodical, Honest
The Fearless Champion · Brave, Passionate, Protective, Magnetic
The Gentle Diplomat · Gentle, Diplomatic, Artistic, Kind
The Visionary Leader · Charismatic, Ambitious, Energetic, Visionary
The Intuitive Sage · Wise, Intuitive, Elegant, Strategic
The Free Spirit · free-spirited, energetic, eloquent, independent
The Gentle Artist · creative, empathetic, peaceful, home-loving
The Clever Inventor · clever, curious, inventive, adaptable
The Sharp Observer · honest, hardworking, precise, confident
The Loyal Guardian · loyal, fair-minded, protective, idealistic
The Generous Heart · generous, warm, sincere, easygoing
In the Chinese calendar, the new year starts at Lunar New Year, which falls anywhere between January 21 and February 20. If you were born in January or early February, your Chinese zodiac sign may be the previous year's animal; this calculator uses the actual start date of every year to get it right.
Your element and your yin or yang polarity also follow the Chinese year: even-numbered years are yang, and odd-numbered years are yin.
Lunar New Year falls on a different date every year. This chart shows the animal, element and start date of each recent Chinese year.
| Year | Animal | Element | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 🐐 Goat | Fire · Yin | February 6 |
| 2026 | 🐎 Horse | Fire · Yang | February 17 |
| 2025 | 🐍 Snake | Wood · Yin | January 29 |
| 2024 | 🐉 Dragon | Wood · Yang | February 10 |
| 2023 | 🐇 Rabbit | Water · Yin | January 22 |
| 2022 | 🐅 Tiger | Water · Yang | February 1 |
| 2021 | 🐂 Ox | Metal · Yin | February 12 |
| 2020 | 🐀 Rat | Metal · Yang | January 25 |
| 2019 | 🐖 Pig | Earth · Yin | February 5 |
| 2018 | 🐕 Dog | Earth · Yang | February 16 |
| 2017 | 🐓 Rooster | Fire · Yin | January 28 |
| 2016 | 🐒 Monkey | Fire · Yang | February 8 |
| 2015 | 🐐 Goat | Wood · Yin | February 19 |
| 2014 | 🐎 Horse | Wood · Yang | January 31 |
| 2013 | 🐍 Snake | Water · Yin | February 10 |
| 2012 | 🐉 Dragon | Water · Yang | January 23 |
| 2011 | 🐇 Rabbit | Metal · Yin | February 3 |
| 2010 | 🐅 Tiger | Metal · Yang | February 14 |
| 2009 | 🐂 Ox | Earth · Yin | January 26 |
| 2008 | 🐀 Rat | Earth · Yang | February 7 |
| 2007 | 🐖 Pig | Fire · Yin | February 18 |
| 2006 | 🐕 Dog | Fire · Yang | January 29 |
| 2005 | 🐓 Rooster | Wood · Yin | February 9 |
| 2004 | 🐒 Monkey | Wood · Yang | January 22 |
| 2003 | 🐐 Goat | Water · Yin | February 1 |
| 2002 | 🐎 Horse | Water · Yang | February 12 |
| 2001 | 🐍 Snake | Metal · Yin | January 24 |
| 2000 | 🐉 Dragon | Metal · Yang | February 5 |
| 1999 | 🐇 Rabbit | Earth · Yin | February 16 |
| 1998 | 🐅 Tiger | Earth · Yang | January 28 |
| 1997 | 🐂 Ox | Fire · Yin | February 7 |
| 1996 | 🐀 Rat | Fire · Yang | February 19 |
| 1995 | 🐖 Pig | Wood · Yin | January 31 |
| 1994 | 🐕 Dog | Wood · Yang | February 10 |
| 1993 | 🐓 Rooster | Water · Yin | January 23 |
| 1992 | 🐒 Monkey | Water · Yang | February 4 |
| 1991 | 🐐 Goat | Metal · Yin | February 15 |
| 1990 | 🐎 Horse | Metal · Yang | January 27 |
| 1989 | 🐍 Snake | Earth · Yin | February 6 |
| 1988 | 🐉 Dragon | Earth · Yang | February 17 |
| 1987 | 🐇 Rabbit | Fire · Yin | January 29 |
| 1986 | 🐅 Tiger | Fire · Yang | February 9 |
| 1985 | 🐂 Ox | Wood · Yin | February 20 |
| 1984 | 🐀 Rat | Wood · Yang | February 2 |
| 1983 | 🐖 Pig | Water · Yin | February 13 |
| 1982 | 🐕 Dog | Water · Yang | January 25 |
| 1981 | 🐓 Rooster | Metal · Yin | February 5 |
| 1980 | 🐒 Monkey | Metal · Yang | February 16 |
| 1979 | 🐐 Goat | Earth · Yin | January 28 |
| 1978 | 🐎 Horse | Earth · Yang | February 7 |
| 1977 | 🐍 Snake | Fire · Yin | February 18 |
| 1976 | 🐉 Dragon | Fire · Yang | January 31 |
| 1975 | 🐇 Rabbit | Wood · Yin | February 11 |
| 1974 | 🐅 Tiger | Wood · Yang | January 23 |
| 1973 | 🐂 Ox | Water · Yin | February 3 |
| 1972 | 🐀 Rat | Water · Yang | February 15 |
| 1971 | 🐖 Pig | Metal · Yin | January 27 |
| 1970 | 🐕 Dog | Metal · Yang | February 6 |
| 1969 | 🐓 Rooster | Earth · Yin | February 17 |
| 1968 | 🐒 Monkey | Earth · Yang | January 30 |
| 1967 | 🐐 Goat | Fire · Yin | February 9 |
| 1966 | 🐎 Horse | Fire · Yang | January 21 |
| 1965 | 🐍 Snake | Wood · Yin | February 2 |
| 1964 | 🐉 Dragon | Wood · Yang | February 13 |
| 1963 | 🐇 Rabbit | Water · Yin | January 25 |
| 1962 | 🐅 Tiger | Water · Yang | February 5 |
| 1961 | 🐂 Ox | Metal · Yin | February 15 |
| 1960 | 🐀 Rat | Metal · Yang | January 28 |
The element of your birth year gives your animal its own flavor: the same animal comes across as more flexible in a Wood year and more determined in a Metal year.
Born in a Wood year, you carry the energy of something that keeps reaching toward the light. Growth matters to you, in your own life and in the people around you, and you tend to see potential where others see only a rough start. Kindness comes naturally, and so does a creative streak that likes to build, mend and imagine. Your idealism is a gift; just let it bend a little, the way a young branch does, when plans change.
Fire in your birth year adds a spark that people notice the moment you walk in. You feel things fully, speak with conviction and often end up leading simply because your enthusiasm pulls others along. Warmth is your real strength: you can make a tired group believe again. The same flame can leap before it looks, so a short pause before big decisions keeps your passion working for you rather than against you.
With Earth as your element, you are the steady ground other people stand on. You prefer what is real and proven over what merely sounds exciting, and your patience lets you finish what flashier types abandon halfway. Friends rely on you because your word holds. Caution protects you well, though it can also keep you waiting too long; now and then, trust that your solid footing is enough to take a bolder step.
A Metal birth year gives your character an edge of clarity and resolve. You know what you want, you set standards and you keep them, often with a discipline that quietly impresses others. Once your will is set, obstacles rarely turn you back. That strength shines brightest when it stays polished rather than hard: listening before you decide, and allowing yourself to change course, turns firmness into true inner power.
Water years shape people who sense the current beneath the surface, and you are one of them. Your intuition often knows the answer before your mind catches up, and you have a gift for finding the right words at the right moment. Like a river, you adapt to the shape of each situation without losing your direction. Give your depth some quiet time, and it becomes the source of real wisdom.
Wood stands for growth and kindness, Fire for passion and leadership, Earth for stability and patience, Metal for determination and discipline, and Water for intuition and adaptability. Yang years carry an outgoing, action-oriented energy, while yin years carry an inward, receptive one.
The day is also divided into twelve two-hour blocks, each ruled by an animal: 11 pm to 1 am belongs to the Rat, 1 am to 3 am to the Ox, and so on around the clock. The animal of the hour you were born in reveals your inner world and the side of you that close friends and family see, which is why it's often called your Chinese rising sign.
In Chinese astrology, animals from the same trine family are natural allies, while animals that sit directly opposite each other on the zodiac wheel are considered opposite signs.
| Animal | Rat | Ox | Tiger | Rabbit | Dragon | Snake | Horse | Goat | Monkey | Rooster | Dog | Pig |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🐀 Rat | Same sign | Secret friends | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs | Minor friction | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match |
| 🐂 Ox | Secret friends | Same sign | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies | Minor friction | Opposite signs | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match |
| 🐅 Tiger | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign | Neutral match | Neutral match | Minor friction | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs | Neutral match | Trine allies | Secret friends |
| 🐇 Rabbit | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign | Minor friction | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs | Secret friends | Trine allies |
| 🐉 Dragon | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match | Minor friction | Same sign | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies | Secret friends | Opposite signs | Neutral match |
| 🐍 Snake | Neutral match | Trine allies | Minor friction | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign | Neutral match | Neutral match | Secret friends | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs |
| 🐎 Horse | Opposite signs | Minor friction | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign | Secret friends | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match |
| 🐐 Goat | Minor friction | Opposite signs | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match | Secret friends | Same sign | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies |
| 🐒 Monkey | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs | Neutral match | Trine allies | Secret friends | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign | Neutral match | Neutral match | Minor friction |
| 🐓 Rooster | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs | Secret friends | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign | Minor friction | Neutral match |
| 🐕 Dog | Neutral match | Neutral match | Trine allies | Secret friends | Opposite signs | Neutral match | Trine allies | Neutral match | Neutral match | Minor friction | Same sign | Neutral match |
| 🐖 Pig | Neutral match | Neutral match | Secret friends | Trine allies | Neutral match | Opposite signs | Neutral match | Trine allies | Minor friction | Neutral match | Neutral match | Same sign |
Your Chinese zodiac sign is the animal of the Chinese year you were born in. Enter your birth date in the calculator above to find your animal, your element and whether you're yin or yang.
Because the Chinese year begins at Lunar New Year, anyone born before that year's Lunar New Year takes the previous year's animal. For example, if you were born on January 20 and Lunar New Year fell in February that year, your sign is the previous year's animal.
Your Chinese rising sign is the animal of the hour you were born. Your year animal describes the character you show the world, while your hour animal describes your inner self and how you act in close relationships.
Animals from the same trine family (Rat-Dragon-Monkey, Ox-Snake-Rooster, Tiger-Horse-Dog, Rabbit-Goat-Pig) are the most compatible matches. Animals that sit opposite each other on the zodiac wheel are opposite signs, and those relationships call for more patience.
2027 is the Year of the Fire Goat, running from February 6, 2027, to January 25, 2028. It's associated with gentleness, creativity, home and healing.
Content updated: