Find your Chinese zodiac.

Explore another layer: compare two signs, convert a lunar birthday, or create a BaZi chart.

Chinese zodiac years at a glance

The date range matters more than the number printed on a calendar. For example, February 16, 2026 is still in the Snake year; the Horse year starts the next day.

How the calculator works

The twelve animals follow a repeating order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The year’s heavenly stem supplies a Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, or Water label; animal and element combine in a 60-year cycle.

We use the civil-date Chinese New Year boundary from the Hong Kong Observatory’s Gregorian–lunar tables. Dates are interpreted as the calendar date you enter; this is not an exact birth-time or time-zone calculation. Some BaZi systems use Li Chun (Start of Spring) instead. Our calculator is an animal-year lookup, not a BaZi chart.

What does my sign mean?

An animal year is a traditional way to name a place in a calendar cycle. It does not establish your abilities, relationship compatibility, or future. The pages here pair date information with original modern reflection prompts. You are free to find a useful question without treating it as a description you have to fit.

Names and customs vary across cultures. This tool follows the Chinese animal sequence; it does not stand in for all Lunar New Year traditions. See the Smithsonian’s introduction to the twelve animals and our editorial approach.

Calendar source: Hong Kong Observatory, retrieved September 21, 2026. Future calendar dates may be revised. Reflections by KarmaAwake. Report a correction.