Chinese zodiac calculator
Enter your full date of birth to see your Chinese zodiac animal and element. The Chinese year starts at Lunar New Year, so for births in late January and February the tool shows both possible animals.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter your full date of birth, not only the year.
- Read your animal, element and yin or yang.
- If the note asks you to check Lunar New Year, find the date for your birth year and use the first animal if you were born on or after it, the second one if before.
How it works
The Chinese year is counted in a 60-year cycle. The animal is the Gregorian year minus 4, taken modulo 12 (year 4 CE is a Rat year). The element comes from the last digit of the year: 0 and 1 metal, 2 and 3 water, 4 and 5 wood, 6 and 7 fire, 8 and 9 earth. An even last digit is yang, an odd one yin.
Lunar New Year can fall on any day from about 21 January to 20 February. Dates before that window always belong to the previous year, dates after it to the current one. Inside the window the tool shows both animals instead of guessing.
Worked examples
- 15 May 1990 is a Metal Horse (1990 − 4 = 1986, and 1986 mod 12 = 6, the Horse).
- 15 January 2024 is before Lunar New Year, so it is still the Water Rabbit of 2023.
- 5 February 2000 could be a Metal Dragon (2000) or an Earth Rabbit (1999), depending on whether Lunar New Year had passed.
Good to know
Some astrologers also use the date of the start of spring (about 4 February) instead of Lunar New Year. This tool follows Lunar New Year, the common way of reading the animal of a year.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Chinese zodiac year start?
At Lunar New Year, which falls on a different date each year, between about 21 January and 20 February. People born before it belong to the animal of the previous year, which is why a full birth date is needed for early-year births.
Why does the tool sometimes show two animals?
For births from 21 January to 20 February the answer depends on the exact date of Lunar New Year in your birth year, which this tool does not compute. Look up that date and pick the first animal if you were born on or after it, the second one if before.
How is the element worked out?
The 60-year cycle pairs 12 animals with five elements in turn. Each element covers two years in a row, the first yang and the second yin, so a year ending in 0 or 1 is metal, 2 or 3 water, 4 or 5 wood, 6 or 7 fire and 8 or 9 earth.
What is the animal of 2026?
By the Chinese calendar, the year that begins in February 2026 is the year of the Horse, in the element fire. Births in January and the first weeks of February 2026 still belong to the Snake.