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The animal year
Twelve animals rotate in a fixed order. Each also owns an earthly branch, a two-hour period and a direction on the traditional compass.
生肖Twelve animals, sixty years
Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese zodiac is a repeating cycle of 12 animals. Each animal is tied to an earthly branch and a fixed element; each year also carries a heavenly stem and a yin or yang quality. It shapes how millions of people talk about personality, compatibility and the turn of the year — but it is a cultural system, not a scientific one.
- Signs
- 12 animals
- Full cycle
- 60 years
- Next New Year
- Feb 6, 2027
Around the cycle
The year you are in
The animal changes at Chinese New Year, not on January 1. These are the current, next and following years in the cycle.
CURRENT · 2026
Year of the Horse
丙午 · 马
A yang fire year, running from February 17, 2026 to February 5, 2027. The Horse is the sign of motion and independence.
Fire · YangRead the guide →
NEXT · 2027
Year of the Goat
丁未 · 羊
A yin fire year, beginning February 6, 2027. Goat, Sheep and Ram are all English names for the same sign.
Fire · YinRead the guide →
THEN · 2028
Year of the Monkey
戊申 · 猴
A yang earth year, beginning January 26, 2028. The Monkey is associated with invention, humor and adaptability.
Earth · YangRead the guide →
The Horse year is in its final months. It ends on February 5, 2027; Chinese New Year 2027 begins on February 6. Read the 2027 Goat guide.
The short answer
Twelve animal signs, one lunar year at a time.
The Chinese zodiac is a 12-year cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each animal is tied to an earthly branch and a two-hour period of the day. On top of that sits a cycle of ten heavenly stems, which gives every year one of five elements and a yin or yang quality. Twelve animals and ten stems combine into the 60-year sexagenary cycle.
Your animal is usually read from the lunar year you were born in. That is why a birthday in January or early February can belong to the previous animal. The date-based calculator handles that boundary.
- Animals
- 12
- Heavenly stems
- 10
- Elements
- 5
- Full cycle
- 60 years
The twelve
Meet the signs
Each sign has a Chinese character, an earthly branch, a fixed element and a traditional personality. Start with the animal you know, or read the full order and meaning.
Tool
What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
Enter a birth date and the calculator finds the lunar year, animal, element, heavenly stem and earthly branch. It accounts for the Chinese New Year cutoff.
- • Covers 1900–2100, with pre-New-Year dates flagged rather than guessed.
- • Uses the popular Chinese New Year boundary.
- • Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
Why twelve animals make sixty years
The animal cycle is only one layer. Chinese calendars combine it with the ten heavenly stems, which is where the five elements and the full sexagenary cycle come from.
02 / 10
The heavenly stem
Ten stems alternate yin and yang, and pair with the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. 2026 is Bing Wu, yang fire.
03 / 60
The full cycle
Twelve animals and ten stems only repeat after 60 years. That is why 1966 and 2026 are both Bing Wu fire horse years.
1984鼠1985牛1986虎1987兔1988龙1989蛇1990马1991羊1992猴1993鸡1994狗1995猪1996鼠1997牛1998虎1999兔2000龙2001蛇2002马2003羊2004猴2005鸡2006狗2007猪2008鼠2009牛2010虎2011兔2012龙2013蛇2014马2015羊2016猴2017鸡2018狗2019猪2020鼠2021牛2022虎2023兔2024龙2025蛇2026马2027羊2028猴2029鸡2030狗2031猪2032鼠2033牛2034虎2035兔2036龙2037蛇2038马2039羊2040猴2041鸡2042狗2043猪
Each square is one year. The full year sits above the animal character; the color marks the year's heavenly-stem element. Tap any square to open that year in the full chart.
Compatibility
The four three-harmony groups
Chinese zodiac compatibility groups the animals into four sets of three, plus six “secret friend” pairs, six clashes and six harms. It is a folk grammar, not a verdict.
The element in each group name describes the three-sign combination, not the fixed element of every animal in it.
Use the two-sign tool for a quick traditional reading, or read the full guide to the categories and their limits.
Open the compatibility guideChinese New Year 2027
Saturday, February 6, 2027
The Year of the Goat begins, and the 15-day Spring Festival runs to the Lantern Festival on February 20. Here is what changes, what is celebrated and how the date is set.
—Days
—Hours
—Minutes
—Seconds
Until Chinese New Year 2027 · UTC+8
Reference library
Go deeper
Eight focused guides on the signs, the calendar, the elements, compatibility and the New Year — with the uncertainty left visible.
Signs
The 12 signs
All twelve animals, the order, the branches and the story behind the cycle.
YearsYears chart
Every animal year, with its stem, element and the date the year begins.
ElementsFive elements
How five elements and ten heavenly stems turn 12 animals into 60 years.
CompatibilityCompatibility
The traditional matches, clashes and the caveats that make them useful.
CalculatorFind my sign
A date-based calculator that gets the January and February boundary right.
GuideChinese New Year
What the festival is, when it falls, and how the zodiac year changes.
2027Chinese New Year 2027
Saturday, February 6, 2027 — the Year of the Goat begins.
2026Chinese New Year 2026
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 — the Year of the Horse began.
Questions
Chinese zodiac questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most. Each links into a fuller guide where the short version is not enough.
What is the Chinese zodiac?
The Chinese zodiac is a repeating 12-year cycle of animal signs, from Rat to Pig. It is used in Chinese calendars, folklore and astrology. Each year is also paired with a heavenly stem and one of five elements, which turns 12 animal years into a 60-year cycle.
How do I find my Chinese zodiac sign?
Use the date-based calculator on this page or the full calculator. Your sign depends on the lunar year you were born in. If you were born in January or early February, check the Chinese New Year date for that year: before it, you belong to the previous animal.
Is 2026 the Year of the Horse?
Yes. The 2026 Chinese New Year fell on February 17, 2026, beginning the Year of the Horse. Its sexagenary name is Bing Wu (丙午), a yang fire year. The Horse year runs until February 5, 2027.
When is Chinese New Year 2027?
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027. It begins the Year of the Goat, Ding Wei (丁未), a yin fire year. The festival runs for 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival on February 20, 2027.
Does the Chinese zodiac year start on January 1?
No. In the popular system, the animal year changes at Chinese New Year, which falls between January 21 and February 20. Some Chinese astrology, especially BaZi, uses the solar term Start of Spring (Li Chun) instead. The calculator here uses Chinese New Year and says so.
Is Chinese zodiac compatibility scientific?
No. Compatibility categories such as three harmonies, six harmonies and clashes are traditional conventions, not tested predictions. They can be fun and culturally meaningful, but they should not decide a relationship. Full Chinese astrology also uses birth time and other factors.
Why is the cat not in the Chinese zodiac?
The popular race story explains the cat’s absence as the Rat’s trick, but historians do not treat that story as the actual origin of the zodiac. The 12-animal set is attested in Han-dynasty material; there is no single documented explanation for the cat’s absence.
Which animal is 2028?
2028 is the Year of the Monkey, beginning on January 26, 2028. Its sexagenary name is Wu Shen (戊申), a yang earth year.
Reviewed October 24, 2026. How this site is researched.