Chinese zodiac calculator: what is my sign?
Enter your birth date and get your Chinese zodiac animal, with its character, its pinyin and how to say it. The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, so a January or February birthday can belong to the year before. It is free and needs no signup.
The twelve animals
| Animal | Character | Pinyin | "I am a ..." | Recent years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat | 鼠 | shǔ | 我属鼠 wǒ shǔ shǔ | 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Ox | 牛 | niú | 我属牛 wǒ shǔ niú | 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Tiger | 虎 | hǔ | 我属虎 wǒ shǔ hǔ | 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022 |
| Rabbit | 兔 | tù | 我属兔 wǒ shǔ tù | 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
| Dragon | 龙 | lóng | 我属龙 wǒ shǔ lóng | 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Snake | 蛇 | shé | 我属蛇 wǒ shǔ shé | 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 |
| Horse | 马 | mǎ | 我属马 wǒ shǔ mǎ | 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Goat | 羊 | yáng | 我属羊 wǒ shǔ yáng | 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027 |
| Monkey | 猴 | hóu | 我属猴 wǒ shǔ hóu | 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 |
| Rooster | 鸡 | jī | 我属鸡 wǒ shǔ jī | 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029 |
| Dog | 狗 | gǒu | 我属狗 wǒ shǔ gǒu | 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030 |
| Pig | 猪 | zhū | 我属猪 wǒ shǔ zhū | 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031 |
The years in the table are the years each animal's year begins. Each one starts at Chinese New Year and runs into January or February of the next year. 属 and 鼠 are both read shǔ, so "I am a Rat" is 我属鼠, wǒ shǔ shǔ.
Why 1 January is the wrong cut-off
The Chinese year follows the moon. It starts on the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, which lands between 21 January and 20 February. A birthday before that date falls in the old Chinese year and takes the old animal.
- Find Chinese New Year for your birth year in the table below.
- If your birthday is on or after that date, your animal is the one for that year.
- If your birthday is before it, your animal is the one for the year before.
Chinese New Year dates, 2016 to 2031
| Year | Chinese New Year | Animal | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 February | Monkey | 猴年 hóu nián |
| 2017 | 28 January | Rooster | 鸡年 jī nián |
| 2018 | 16 February | Dog | 狗年 gǒu nián |
| 2019 | 5 February | Pig | 猪年 zhū nián |
| 2020 | 25 January | Rat | 鼠年 shǔ nián |
| 2021 | 12 February | Ox | 牛年 niú nián |
| 2022 | 1 February | Tiger | 虎年 hǔ nián |
| 2023 | 22 January | Rabbit | 兔年 tù nián |
| 2024 | 10 February | Dragon | 龙年 lóng nián |
| 2025 | 29 January | Snake | 蛇年 shé nián |
| 2026 | 17 February | Horse | 马年 mǎ nián |
| 2027 | 6 February | Goat | 羊年 yáng nián |
| 2028 | 26 January | Monkey | 猴年 hóu nián |
| 2029 | 13 February | Rooster | 鸡年 jī nián |
| 2030 | 3 February | Dog | 狗年 gǒu nián |
| 2031 | 23 January | Pig | 猪年 zhū nián |
The calculator covers birth dates from 1930 to 2031. Chinese New Year is 春节 (Chūnjié), the Spring Festival. The year of your own animal comes round every twelve years and is called your 本命年 (běnmìngnián).
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my Chinese zodiac sign?
It depends on the Chinese year you were born in. Each Chinese year has one of twelve animals, and the year starts at Chinese New Year, which falls between 21 January and 20 February. Enter your full birth date above and the calculator checks it against that year's date.
I was born in January or February. Which animal am I?
If your birthday is before Chinese New Year of that year, you belong to the animal of the year before. Someone born on 9 February 2024 is a Rabbit. Someone born on 10 February 2024, the day of Chinese New Year, is a Dragon.
How do you say your zodiac sign in Chinese?
Use 属 (shǔ), "to belong to", plus the animal. 我属龙 (wǒ shǔ lóng) means "I am a Dragon". To ask someone, say 你属什么？ (nǐ shǔ shénme?).
What are the twelve animals in order?
Rat 鼠, Ox 牛, Tiger 虎, Rabbit 兔, Dragon 龙, Snake 蛇, Horse 马, Goat 羊, Monkey 猴, Rooster 鸡, Dog 狗, Pig 猪. The cycle repeats every twelve years.
Is it Goat or Sheep?
Both. The Chinese word is 羊 (yáng), which covers goats and sheep, so English sources use Goat, Sheep or Ram for the same year.
Does the zodiac year ever start on a different day?
In everyday use it starts at Chinese New Year, and that is what this calculator uses. Some fortune-telling traditions change the animal at 立春 (Lìchūn), the start of spring in the solar calendar, around 4 February.
The twelve animals are everyday words. GraphChinese teaches them, and the rest of Mandarin, in an order where each word builds on the last. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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