Chinese Zodiac Calculator
Enter your date of birth to find your Chinese zodiac animal, element, polarity, lucky numbers and colors, and check how compatible you are with a second person's sign.
Find Your Chinese Zodiac Animal by Birth Date
Chinese Zodiac Formula
Where:
- \(y\) — the Gregorian (calendar) year of birth
- \(Y\) — the Chinese zodiac year of birth
- \(z\) — the animal index: 0 Rat, 1 Ox, 2 Tiger, 3 Rabbit, 4 Dragon, 5 Snake, 6 Horse, 7 Goat, 8 Monkey, 9 Rooster, 10 Dog, 11 Pig
- \(P\) — the polarity (Yang or Yin), alternating every year
- \(E\) — the element, repeating on a ten-year cycle
The table below maps \(Y \bmod 10\) to the five elements:
| \(Y \bmod 10\) | 0, 1 | 2, 3 | 4, 5 | 6, 7 | 8, 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Metal | Water | Wood | Fire | Earth |
Because the zodiac year begins at the Lunar New Year (any date from 21 January to 20 February), a birthday in those months has to be compared with the exact New Year date before the formulas above can be applied.
Chinese Zodiac – Calculation Example
Example: a person born on 20 January 1990. The Lunar New Year of 1990 fell on 27 January, so the birth date comes before it and the zodiac year is one less: \(Y = 1989\).
\[ z = (1989 - 1900) \bmod 12 = 89 \bmod 12 = 5 \;\Rightarrow\; \text{Snake} \]
\[ 1989 \bmod 10 = 9 \;\Rightarrow\; \text{Earth}, \qquad 1989 \text{ is odd} \;\Rightarrow\; \text{Yin} \]
Result: an Earth Snake (Yin), whose zodiac year ran from 6 February 1989 to 26 January 1990. The second default date, 10 May 1985, is safely after the Lunar New Year of 1985, so \(z = 85 \bmod 12 = 1\): a Wood Ox. Snake and Ox belong to the same harmony triangle (Ox–Snake–Rooster), so the calculator rates this pairing an excellent match.
How to use the calculator
- Enter your Date of birth in the first field. Any date from 1 January 1900 to 31 December 2100 is accepted.
- If you were born in January or February, check the Zodiac year runs result carefully — the Lunar New Year shifts every year, and your sign may belong to the previous animal.
- To compare two people, fill in the optional Second person’s date of birth field. Leave it empty to skip the compatibility reading.
- Read your results: Zodiac animal, Element, Polarity, the exact Zodiac year runs period, personality traits, lucky numbers and colors, plus your best and worst matches.
- Review the Years of your animal list and the table of all 12 animals to see when each sign last occurred and recurs.
What the Chinese zodiac is and how to read your result
The Chinese zodiac (生肖, shēngxiào) is a repeating 12-year cycle in which each year is represented by an animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Your birth year determines your animal sign, which tradition links to a set of personality traits, lucky numbers and colors, and compatibility with other signs.
Two features enrich the basic animal cycle. Every year also carries one of the five elements — Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth — which rotate on a ten-year cycle, and a polarity — Yang or Yin — which alternates every year. Combining animal, element and polarity gives 60 distinct year characters, so a 1990 Horse and a 2002 Horse share an animal but differ in element and polarity.
Compatibility follows a few classic patterns. Every animal belongs to a harmony triangle of three signs that support each other: Rat–Dragon–Monkey, Ox–Snake–Rooster, Tiger–Horse–Dog and Rabbit–Goat–Pig. Each animal also has a secret friend from another triangle, traditionally its closest ally. The most difficult pairing is the clash sign, the animal exactly six years apart, which is why the calculator flags it as the worst match.
Treat the reading as descriptive and fun rather than predictive. The traits associated with each sign are broad generalizations; the compatibility ratings highlight traditional beliefs, not guarantees about real relationships. If you want to know exactly how many days you have lived, the Time Duration Calculator can measure the time since your birth date precisely.
Reference table: the 12 animals
| Index \(z\) | Animal | Harmony triangle |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Rat 🐀 | Rat–Dragon–Monkey |
| 1 | Ox 🐂 | Ox–Snake–Rooster |
| 2 | Tiger 🐅 | Tiger–Horse–Dog |
| 3 | Rabbit 🐇 | Rabbit–Goat–Pig |
| 4 | Dragon 🐉 | Rat–Dragon–Monkey |
| 5 | Snake 🐍 | Ox–Snake–Rooster |
| 6 | Horse 🐎 | Tiger–Horse–Dog |
| 7 | Goat 🐐 | Rabbit–Goat–Pig |
| 8 | Monkey 🐵 | Rat–Dragon–Monkey |
| 9 | Rooster 🐓 | Ox–Snake–Rooster |
| 10 | Dog 🐕 | Tiger–Horse–Dog |
| 11 | Pig 🐖 | Rabbit–Goat–Pig |
Assumptions and practical tips
- January and February birthdays are the main pitfall. The zodiac year starts at the Lunar New Year, which falls between 21 January and 20 February. The calculator checks the exact New Year date for your birth year, so trust its Zodiac year runs line over any simple “birth year minus 4 modulo 12” shortcut.
- Supported range: 1 January 1900 to 31 December 2100. Because the first Lunar New Year in the data falls on 31 January 1900, births earlier in January 1900 cannot be resolved and will show a message.
- Regional variations exist. The Vietnamese zodiac replaces the Rabbit with a Cat, and some neighboring countries shift an element or two; this calculator follows the mainstream Chinese system.
- New Year dates depend on conventions. Lunar New Year is computed from astronomical observations; published dates can occasionally differ by a day around midnight. If you were born on the New Year day itself, a source using a different time zone may assign you the neighboring sign.
- Compatibility is a guideline, not a verdict. A “challenging match” simply describes the traditional clash pairing — many real couples born six years apart get along perfectly well with mutual effort.
- Curious about your pet instead? Dog owners born in any year can convert their companion’s age with the Dog Age Calculator — and if you cannot decide between two options, the Yes or No Wheel makes short work of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find my Chinese zodiac sign without a calculator?
Subtract 1900 from your birth year and take the remainder when dividing by 12: zero means Rat, one Ox, two Tiger, and so on up to eleven for Pig. This shortcut only works if your birthday falls after the Lunar New Year. If you were born in January or February, compare your exact birth date with the New Year date of that year first — if it comes earlier, use the previous year in the formula.
Why do people born in January or February often get the wrong sign?
Because the Chinese zodiac year begins at the Lunar New Year, which falls anywhere between 21 January and 20 February, not on 1 January. Someone born on 5 February 1990, for instance, is a Snake, not a Horse, since the Year of the Horse started only on 27 January 1990. This off-by-one-year mistake is the single most common error people make with the zodiac, so January and February birthdays must always check the exact New Year date.
What is my Chinese zodiac element and how do I calculate it?
Find the last digit of your Chinese zodiac year: 0 and 1 mean Metal, 2 and 3 Water, 4 and 5 Wood, 6 and 7 Fire, 8 and 9 Earth. Polarity is even simpler — an even zodiac year is Yang, an odd one is Yin. Since the animal, element and polarity only repeat together every 60 years, a person born in 1988 and another in 2048 are both Earth Dragons, but nobody born between them shares that exact combination.
Which Chinese zodiac signs are most compatible, and which clash?
Tradition groups the animals into four harmony triangles: Rat–Dragon–Monkey, Ox–Snake–Rooster, Tiger–Horse–Dog and Rabbit–Goat–Pig — signs within the same triangle are considered excellent matches. Each animal also has a secret friend, usually from a neighboring group. The clash pair is the animal exactly six years apart (Rat–Horse, Ox–Goat, Tiger–Monkey and so on). Remember these ratings reflect folklore, not verified relationship science.
Is the Vietnamese zodiac the same as the Chinese one?
Almost, but not quite. The Vietnamese zodiac replaces the Rabbit with a Cat, while the other eleven animals and the 12-year cycle are identical. A few neighboring countries also assign slightly different elements in some years. This calculator follows the mainstream Chinese system, so if your family tradition is Vietnamese, a birth in a Rabbit year would be read as a Cat instead.
What if I was born on the Lunar New Year day itself?
Your sign is the animal whose year starts that very day, but be careful: published New Year dates can differ by a day because the moment is computed astronomically in a specific time zone. If you were born on that boundary day, one source may list the New Year a day earlier or later than another, which could shift your sign. In that case check which time zone your source uses, or consult a Chinese almanac for your birth year.
Do lucky numbers, colors and personality traits really work?
They are best enjoyed as cultural fun, not as guidance for decisions. The traits attached to each animal are broad generalizations — hundreds of millions of people share each sign, so they cannot describe any individual accurately. Lucky numbers and colors come from traditional symbolism and folk numerology, and the compatibility ratings describe classic beliefs rather than guarantees about real relationships. Treat the reading as entertainment and self-reflection.