Chinese zodiac calculator

Your Chinese zodiac animal follows the lunar year, but there are two ways to mark the start of the year: the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and Lichun, the start of spring. If you were born between January and mid-February, the two can give different animals, so this page shows both.

Date of birth

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Result

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About this page

  • The 12 animals are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, repeating every 12 years.
  • The Spring Festival falls between 21 January and 20 February, and Lichun between 3 and 5 February, so the two rules only differ early in the year.
  • Each year also has a heavenly stem and an earthly branch, repeating every 60 years. The stem gives the element: for example, 2026 is a Fire Horse year.

The readings on this page are traditional, for entertainment only, and not a basis for decisions.

Years of each animal

AnimalYears (1924–2043)
Rat1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032
Ox1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033
Tiger1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034
Rabbit1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035
Dragon1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036
Snake1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037
Horse1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038
Goat1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039
Monkey1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040
Rooster1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041
Dog1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042
Pig1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043

How it is calculated

  1. The date of the Spring Festival and the moment of Lichun (start of spring) for each year are calculated with lunar-javascript under the rules of the Chinese calendar (GB/T 33661-2017). The Lichun moment is also checked against the Sun reaching 315 degrees of longitude.
  2. Spring Festival rule: if you were born before that year's Spring Festival, your animal is the previous year's. Lichun rule: if you were born before that year's Lichun moment, your animal is the previous year's.
  3. The stem, branch and element follow from the lunar year: the animal is the remainder of (year − 4) divided by 12, and the heavenly stem is the remainder of (year − 4) divided by 10.
  4. All calculations are done in your browser. The birth details you enter are not sent to any server and are saved only in this browser.

Sources

  1. State Administration for Market Regulation and Standardization Administration: GB/T 33661-2017 Calculation and promulgation of the Chinese calendar
  2. lunar-javascript: Chinese calendar library (MIT licence)
  3. Astronomy Engine: Library for calculating the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets (MIT licence)

Last reviewed on October 31, 2026.