Chinese Zodiac Calculator
Find your Chinese zodiac animal, element and yin or yang from your birth date. The tool uses the real Lunar New Year date, so January and February birthdays come out right.
Your animal appears here.
Enter your date of birth and choose Find my animal.
How your Chinese zodiac is found
The Chinese zodiac follows the lunar calendar. Each Chinese year starts at Lunar New Year and is linked to one of 12 animals, in a fixed order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
Each year also has one of five elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water, which each last two years, and alternates between yang and yin. We look up the Lunar New Year date for your birth year: if you were born before it, your animal is the previous year's.
For your Western sign, use the Zodiac Sign Calculator. You can also see what generation you are, or check how two birthdays match with the Birthday Compatibility Calculator.
Worked example
Born February 1, 1996. Lunar New Year 1996 fell on Monday, February 19, 1996, so you belong to the Chinese year that began in 1995: a Wood Pig. Born a month later, on March 1, 1996, you would be a Fire Rat.
Chinese zodiac years chart
Each animal and its years. If you were born in January or February, check the Lunar New Year date first.
| Animal | Years |
|---|---|
| Rat | 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Ox | 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Tiger | 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022 |
| Rabbit | 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
| Dragon | 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Snake | 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 |
| Horse | 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Goat | 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027 |
| Monkey | 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 |
| Rooster | 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029 |
| Dog | 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030 |
| Pig | 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031 |
Lunar New Year dates, 2020 to 2031
| Year | Lunar New Year | Animal |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Saturday, January 25, 2020 | Metal Rat |
| 2021 | Friday, February 12, 2021 | Metal Ox |
| 2022 | Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | Water Tiger |
| 2023 | Sunday, January 22, 2023 | Water Rabbit |
| 2024 | Saturday, February 10, 2024 | Wood Dragon |
| 2025 | Wednesday, January 29, 2025 | Wood Snake |
| 2026 | Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | Fire Horse |
| 2027 | Saturday, February 6, 2027 | Fire Goat |
| 2028 | Wednesday, January 26, 2028 | Earth Monkey |
| 2029 | Tuesday, February 13, 2029 | Earth Rooster |
| 2030 | Sunday, February 3, 2030 | Metal Dog |
| 2031 | Thursday, January 23, 2031 | Metal Pig |
Work out your animal with simple math
Take the Chinese year you were born in (the year before, if your birthday is before Lunar New Year). Subtract 4, divide by 12 and look up the remainder below. For 1996: 1996 − 4 = 1992, and 1992 divided by 12 is 166 with nothing left over, so the remainder is 0: the Rat.
| Remainder | Animal |
|---|---|
| 0 | Rat |
| 1 | Ox |
| 2 | Tiger |
| 3 | Rabbit |
| 4 | Dragon |
| 5 | Snake |
| 6 | Horse |
| 7 | Goat |
| 8 | Monkey |
| 9 | Rooster |
| 10 | Dog |
| 11 | Pig |
The element follows the last digit of the Chinese year: 0 or 1 is Metal, 2 or 3 Water, 4 or 5 Wood, 6 or 7 Fire, and 8 or 9 Earth. Even years are yang and odd years yin, which is why 1996 is a Fire Rat and yang.
Chinese zodiac compatibility
Tradition sorts the 12 animals into four groups of three that are said to get along well, and pairs each animal with a clashing opposite, six places along the cycle. These pairings follow Travel China Guide and are shared for fun, not as a guide to real relationships.
Chinese zodiac compatibility chart by animal
| Animal | Best matches | Clashes with |
|---|---|---|
| Rat | Dragon and Monkey | Horse |
| Ox | Snake and Rooster | Goat |
| Tiger | Horse and Dog | Monkey |
| Rabbit | Goat and Pig | Rooster |
| Dragon | Rat and Monkey | Dog |
| Snake | Ox and Rooster | Pig |
| Horse | Tiger and Dog | Rat |
| Goat | Rabbit and Pig | Ox |
| Monkey | Rat and Dragon | Tiger |
| Rooster | Ox and Snake | Rabbit |
| Dog | Tiger and Horse | Dragon |
| Pig | Rabbit and Goat | Snake |
Best matches are the other two animals in the same group; the clash is the animal six places along the cycle. Other pairings are not singled out either way.
For a playful score between two Western birthdays, see the Birthday Compatibility Calculator.
Your zodiac year: ben ming nian
Every 12 years the cycle comes back to your animal. That year is your ben ming nian, your zodiac year, around the ages of 12, 24, 36, 48 and so on. In folklore it is a year to be careful, said to offend Tai Sui, a power believed to control fortune.
The best-known custom is to wear red, such as red socks, a red belt or red underwear, to keep bad luck away. As Travel China Guide notes, the red items should be gifts from family or friends rather than bought for yourself. The tool shows the dates of your next zodiac year. Like the rest of the zodiac, the custom is shared for fun.
Lunar New Year or the Start of Spring?
There are two ways to decide when a zodiac year begins. Most people go by Lunar New Year, the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, which moves between January 21 and February 20. Chinese astrology, including the Four Pillars system, often uses Lichun instead: the Start of Spring, one of the 24 solar terms, which falls around February 4 every year.
The two only give different animals for birthdays that fall between the two dates. This tool uses Lunar New Year, the date the year is celebrated.
The legend of the Great Race
Why these 12 animals, in this order? According to legend, a race was held, by the Jade Emperor in some versions and the Buddha in others, and the animals took their places in the order they arrived. The Rat is first because it hitched a ride on the back of the Ox, the next animal in the cycle, as National Geographic recounts. The Pig, last, closes the cycle.
Chinese Zodiac Calculator questions
What Chinese zodiac am I?
Enter your full date of birth above. Lunar New Year always falls between January 21 and February 20, so if you were born from February 21 on, your animal is simply your birth year's animal in the chart. Born earlier in the year, check that year's Lunar New Year date: before it, you take the previous year's animal.
What are the Chinese zodiac elements?
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Each element lasts two years in a row, so each pairing of element and animal comes back only once every 60 years. The Fire Horse of 2026 last came round in 1966, as a Fire Horse.
What is the Chinese zodiac for 2026?
The Fire Horse. The Year of the Horse began at Lunar New Year on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 and runs until Saturday, February 6, 2027, when the Year of the Fire Goat begins. So a baby born in January 2027 is still a Horse.
What Chinese zodiac is 2003?
Mostly the Water Goat, whose year began at Lunar New Year on Saturday, February 1, 2003. Anyone born in January 2003, before that date, belongs to the Chinese year that began in 2002, the Water Horse.
Is the Goat the same as the Sheep or Ram?
Yes. The Chinese word covers goats and sheep, so the eighth animal is called the Goat, the Sheep or the Ram in English.
Related tools
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Published October 7, 2026. Last updated October 7, 2026. The Chinese zodiac is shared for fun.