Chinese Zodiac Year Chart: What Is My Animal Sign

Your Chinese zodiac sign comes from the lunar year you were born into. Find your birth year in the chart below, then check the January and February boundary before you settle on an animal. For most birthdays the chart is enough; for early-year birthdays it is not.

How the twelve-year cycle assigns a sign

The cycle runs Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, then repeats. Each animal governs a lunar year in the Chinese zodiac that begins at Chinese New Year, not on January 1. The date moves between January 21 and February 20, so the Gregorian year and the zodiac year are not always the same thing. The animal sequence itself is a calendar convention, not a personality test.

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Chinese zodiac year chart, 1900-2035

Each row lists the animal that begins in that Gregorian year at Chinese New Year. Read the year, then the animal next to it.

Born in January or February? Check the boundary

Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20. If you were born before the new year date in your birth year, your animal is the previous year's animal. Three examples show how much difference the date makes.

• Born January 15, 1990: Chinese New Year was January 27, so the sign is Snake (1989), not Horse.
• Born February 9, 2024: Chinese New Year was February 10, so the sign is Rabbit (2023), not Dragon.
• Born February 18, 2026: Chinese New Year was February 17, so the sign is Horse.

Write the date down before you use any chart. The chart maps years; your birthday decides which side of the line you fall on.

Lichun and Chinese New Year are different lines

Lichun, the start of spring in the solar terms, falls around February 3 to 5. Some Chinese astrology systems, especially BaZi, start the year at Lichun. Folk zodiac charts and most public references start it at Chinese New Year. The gap can be up to about two weeks.

If you were born between those two dates, two answers are possible. Neither is a mistake; they follow different conventions. A BaZi practitioner may use Lichun, while a temple charm or a popular year chart will usually use Chinese New Year. State which convention you are using before comparing signs.

The 30-second calculation

Subtract 4 from the birth year, divide by 12, and use the remainder: 0 Rat, 1 Ox, 2 Tiger, 3 Rabbit, 4 Dragon, 5 Snake, 6 Horse, 7 Goat, 8 Monkey, 9 Rooster, 10 Dog, 11 Pig.

Examples: 1994 minus 4 is 1990; 1990 divided by 12 leaves 10, so Dog. 2000 minus 4 is 1996; the remainder is 4, so Dragon. 2026 minus 4 is 2022; the remainder is 6, so Horse.

The formula uses the Gregorian year. If the birthday is before Chinese New Year, use the previous year in the formula. That single adjustment fixes most January and February errors.

Five common ways to get the wrong animal

• Using January 1 as the boundary. The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not at the start of the Gregorian year.
• Ignoring the January-February window. A birthday three weeks before the new year belongs to the previous animal.
• Mixing Lichun and Chinese New Year. Both conventions exist; do not switch between them in the middle of a comparison.
• Confusing the animal with the year element. 2026 is a Fire Horse year; Fire is the stem element, not a second animal.
• Using age instead of birth year. Age changes on your birthday or at the new year depending on the system; the birth year does not.

From sign to a piece you will actually wear

Once you have the animal, choose the format before the motif. A pendant is visible and easy to layer; a bead bracelet is the most forgiving daily piece; a ring is the most discreet. The animal can be a carved relief, a medallion or a single charm on a cord.

A zodiac medallion pendant puts the animal on the front; a black obsidian zodiac necklace keeps the carving dark and legible.

Material matters more than most buyers expect. Obsidian chips, jade changes slowly, quartz beads hold polish, and wood reacts to water. The zodiac jewelry materials comparison covers those differences in detail. If you are choosing for someone else, the zodiac gift guide handles occasion and budget. If you want the trait vocabulary traditionally attached to each animal, the animal sign meanings guide is the place to start.

Final word

The chart is a lookup tool, not a compatibility score and not a prediction. Get the birth year right, check the boundary if you were born early in the year, and then choose a piece you will wear often enough to see how it ages. If two systems give you different animals, pick the convention that matches the source you are using and say so.

Current styles, sizes, and materials are gathered in the Chinese Zodiac Jewelry.