Chinese Zodiac Calculator
Enter a birth date and find the Chinese zodiac animal, element and polarity for that year. The calculator uses the actual date of Chinese New Year each year, not 1 January, so someone born in January or early February gets the right sign. It also names the stem-branch year, its place in the 60-year cycle and, for comparison, the sign by the Start of Spring rule. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Pick a date to find the sign.
How to Use the Chinese Zodiac Calculator
- 1. Choose how to look it up. Use Birth date for the full answer. If you already know the lunar year, switch to Lunar year and type it.
- 2. Enter the birth date. Dates from 1 January 1900 to 31 December 2100 are supported. The field opens on today's date.
- 3. Read the sign. You get the animal and its element, whether the year is yang or yin, the stem-branch name with Chinese characters, and the year's place in the 60-year cycle.
- 4. Check the boundary. The calculator says when Chinese New Year fell that year and whether your date is before or after it. If you were born in January or early February, this decides your sign.
Why the Sign Does Not Change on 1 January
The zodiac belongs to the Chinese lunisolar year, which starts at Chinese New Year. That day is the first of the first month, and it is set by astronomy: the month containing the winter solstice is always the eleventh, which puts the new year at the second new moon after the solstice, or occasionally the third. The result falls between 21 January and 20 February, and it moves from year to year.
So a person born on 15 January 2000 was born in the Year of the Rabbit, not the Dragon: Chinese New Year in 2000 was on 5 February. A person born on 9 February 2024 is a Rabbit; one born the next day, 10 February 2024, is a Dragon. The dates behind the calculator are Beijing dates for 1900 to 2101, checked against published tables and an independent calculation of the new moon.
Animals, Elements and the 60-Year Cycle
Twelve animals repeat every 12 years in a fixed order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Alongside them run ten heavenly stems, which pair up into the five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, water — and alternate between yang and yin. A stem and a branch (the animal) together name a year, and the combination repeats only after 60 years, because 60 is the lowest common multiple of 10 and 12.
| Year (from Chinese New Year) | Sign | Stem and branch |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Wood Dragon (yang) | Jiǎ-Chén 甲辰 |
| 2025 | Wood Snake (yin) | Yǐ-Sì 乙巳 |
| 2026 | Fire Horse (yang) | Bǐng-Wǔ 丙午 |
| 2027 | Fire Goat (yin) | Dīng-Wèi 丁未 |
| 2028 | Earth Monkey (yang) | Wù-Shēn 戊申 |
| 2029 | Earth Rooster (yin) | Jǐ-Yǒu 己酉 |
| 2030 | Metal Dog (yang) | Gēng-Xū 庚戌 |
| 2031 | Metal Pig (yin) | Xīn-Hài 辛亥 |
| 2032 | Water Rat (yang) | Rén-Zǐ 壬子 |
The 60-year cycle starts with Jiǎ-Zǐ (Wood Rat), which was the year 4 CE, so the stem is the year minus 4 mod 10 and the animal is the year minus 4 mod 12. Everyone born from Chinese New Year 1984 to its eve in 1985 is a Wood Rat, as are those born in 2044. The Fire Horse year 2026 began on 17 February and ends on 5 February 2027.
Chinese New Year or Start of Spring?
Popular zodiac tables use Chinese New Year, and so do most Chinese speakers when they ask about a shuxiang. Some astrologers, particularly practitioners of Bazi (Four Pillars), start the year at Lìchūn, the Start of Spring, around 4 February. In years when Chinese New Year falls in January the two rules disagree for up to two weeks. The calculator shows the Start of Spring sign beside the main one whenever they differ, so you can see both.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
- It depends on your birth date relative to Chinese New Year in your birth year. Enter the date above. Anyone born from the new year up to the eve of the next one shares the animal, so people born in January and early February often have the animal of the year before.
- When is Chinese New Year each year?
- It falls between 21 January and 20 February: 29 January in 2025, 17 February in 2026, 6 February in 2027 and 26 January in 2028. The date comes from the new moon, so it moves from year to year, and the calculator holds the date for every year from 1900 to 2101.
- How is the element of a zodiac year decided?
- By the heavenly stem of the year, which is the year number minus 4, taken mod 10. Stems 0 and 1 are wood, 2 and 3 fire, 4 and 5 earth, 6 and 7 metal, and 8 and 9 water, so each element lasts two years in a row, first yang and then yin. A given animal and element come round together every 60 years.
- Is the sign for the goat, sheep or ram?
- The Chinese character 羊 (yáng) covers goat, sheep and ram, so all three English names are used. Different cultures favour different translations. This calculator says Goat. Vietnam's zodiac also differs from the Chinese one by using the Cat in place of the Rabbit.
- What is the Fire Horse?
- It is the year of the Fire Horse, Bǐng-Wǔ, which comes round every 60 years: 1966, 2026 and 2086. In Japan, folk belief about women born in the corresponding hinoe-uma year was so strong that births fell by roughly a quarter in 1966. The belief has no basis in the calendar itself.
- Why can two sources disagree about my sign?
- They may use different year boundaries. Most use Chinese New Year; Bazi practitioners use the Start of Spring, about 4 February; some Western websites simply use 1 January. For a birth date between 1 January and 20 February, check which rule your source follows. The calculator shows the main sign and, where it differs, the Start of Spring one.