Chinese zodiac calculator

How the year is decided

The Chinese zodiac year does not begin on 1 January. It begins on the lunar new year, a date that falls between 21 January and 20 February in the Gregorian calendar. If you were born in January or February before that date, your sign is the one of the year before.

The calculator works out every lunar new year itself, from astronomical new moons and solar terms in China time, and its results are checked in tests against published tables for every year from 1901 to 2100.

Only the calendar date you enter counts. The whole day of the lunar new year already belongs to the new year.

The 60-year cycle of stems and branches

Every year has a name of two characters: one of 10 heavenly stems and one of 12 earthly branches. The 12 branches are the 12 animals, in a fixed order that starts with the rat. The 10 stems come in pairs, and each pair belongs to one of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. In each pair the first stem is yang and the second is yin.

Stems and branches move one step every year, so the animal changes every year and the element every two years. A full pairing comes around again after 60 years. That is why 2027 is Ding-wei 丁未, with the yin fire stem and the goat branch, and the next Ding-wei year is 2087.

Lunar new year dates

Questions

Why does my January birthday give the previous animal?

The zodiac year starts at the lunar new year, not on 1 January. If your birthday falls before that date, you belong to the year that began the year before. Someone born on 20 January 1990 is a Snake, because the Year of the Horse began on 27 January 1990.

Does the time or the place of birth matter?

Not for the year animal. The tool reads only the calendar date you enter, and the whole day of the lunar new year counts as the new year.

Why do the animal and the element change at different speeds?

Each element covers two stems in a row, so the element changes every two years while the animal changes every year. The same animal comes back every 12 years, and the same animal with the same element every 60 years.

Which birth dates does it cover?

From 31 January 1900 to 28 January 2101, which are the lunar years 1900 to 2100.

Is my birth date sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs in your browser.