Chinese Zodiac Years Chart: Find Your Sign and Age
"What's your sign?" is a polite way to ask someone's age in Taiwan. Your Chinese zodiac sign is the earthly branch of your birth year, and it cycles every 12 years. This page puts every sign's years and its age in 2026 in one place, and explains why people born around the new year can get two different answers.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
Enter your Gregorian date of birth. You will see your sign by both rules, the Start of Spring (used in BaZi) and Lunar New Year (popular custom), plus your year pillar, na yin and your age this year. You can also pick a second sign to see how the two relate. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Born on the day of the Start of Spring itself? Then your sign depends on whether you were born before or after the exact moment it begins; see solar-term boundaries.
Chinese zodiac years chart
| Sign | Branch | Birth years |
|---|---|---|
| Rat | Zi 子 | 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Ox | Chou 丑 | 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Tiger | Yin 寅 | 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022 |
| Rabbit | Mao 卯 | 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
| Dragon | Chen 辰 | 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Snake | Si 巳 | 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 |
| Horse | Wu 午 | 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Goat | Wei 未 | 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027 |
| Monkey | Shen 申 | 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 |
| Rooster | You 酉 | 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029 |
| Dog | Xu 戌 | 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030 |
| Pig | Hai 亥 | 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031 |
Years change at the Start of Spring. If you were born between late January and mid-February, check with the lookup above.
Ages by sign in 2026
| Sign | Age in 2026 (birth year) |
|---|---|
| Rat | 90 (1936), 78 (1948), 66 (1960), 54 (1972), 42 (1984), 30 (1996), 18 (2008), 6 (2020) |
| Ox | 89 (1937), 77 (1949), 65 (1961), 53 (1973), 41 (1985), 29 (1997), 17 (2009), 5 (2021) |
| Tiger | 88 (1938), 76 (1950), 64 (1962), 52 (1974), 40 (1986), 28 (1998), 16 (2010), 4 (2022) |
| Rabbit | 87 (1939), 75 (1951), 63 (1963), 51 (1975), 39 (1987), 27 (1999), 15 (2011), 3 (2023) |
| Dragon | 86 (1940), 74 (1952), 62 (1964), 50 (1976), 38 (1988), 26 (2000), 14 (2012), 2 (2024) |
| Snake | 85 (1941), 73 (1953), 61 (1965), 49 (1977), 37 (1989), 25 (2001), 13 (2013), 1 (2025) |
| Horse | 84 (1942), 72 (1954), 60 (1966), 48 (1978), 36 (1990), 24 (2002), 12 (2014), 0 (2026) |
| Goat | 83 (1943), 71 (1955), 59 (1967), 47 (1979), 35 (1991), 23 (2003), 11 (2015) |
| Monkey | 82 (1944), 70 (1956), 58 (1968), 46 (1980), 34 (1992), 22 (2004), 10 (2016) |
| Rooster | 81 (1945), 69 (1957), 57 (1969), 45 (1981), 33 (1993), 21 (2005), 9 (2017) |
| Dog | 80 (1946), 68 (1958), 56 (1970), 44 (1982), 32 (1994), 20 (2006), 8 (2018) |
| Pig | 79 (1947), 67 (1959), 55 (1971), 43 (1983), 31 (1995), 19 (2007), 7 (2019) |
Ages here are the age you reach on your birthday in 2026. In Taiwan and much of East Asia people also use "virtual age" (xu sui), where you are 1 at birth and add a year at each Lunar New Year, so it runs one or two years higher. 2026 is a Bing-Wu year (Year of the Horse), counted from the Start of Spring on Feb 4 (popular custom starts it at Lunar New Year on Feb 17).
When does the sign change: Start of Spring or Lunar New Year?
Popular custom switches signs at Lunar New Year, the first day of the first lunar month. BaZi and the rest of Chinese metaphysics switch at the Start of Spring (Li Chun), the first of the 24 solar terms, and our chart calculator does the same. Lunar New Year follows the moon and wanders between late January and mid-February; the Start of Spring follows the sun and almost always falls on February 3, 4 or 5. Between 1924 and 2043, Lunar New Year came up to 14 days before the Start of Spring and up to 16 days after it.
How we counted: our calendar engine checked every day from 1960 to 2005 (16,802 days) and compared the sign by the Start of Spring with the sign by Lunar New Year.
Born on the day of the Start of Spring itself? Then it depends on whether you were born before or after the exact moment; see solar-term boundaries.
Sign relations: trines, combinations, clashes, punishments, harms and breaks
| Relation | Signs |
|---|---|
| Trine (San He) | Monkey–Rat–Dragon (Water); Pig–Rabbit–Goat (Wood); Tiger–Horse–Dog (Fire); Snake–Rooster–Ox (Metal) |
| Six Combination (Liu He) | Rat–Ox; Tiger–Pig; Rabbit–Dog; Dragon–Rooster; Snake–Monkey; Horse–Goat |
| Clash (Chong) | Rat–Horse; Ox–Goat; Tiger–Monkey; Rabbit–Rooster; Dragon–Dog; Snake–Pig |
| Punishment (Xing) | Tiger–Snake–Monkey (Punishment of Ingratitude); Ox–Dog–Goat (Punishment of Bullying); Rat–Rabbit (Punishment of Discourtesy); self-punishment: Dragon, Horse, Rooster and Pig |
| Harm (Hai) | Rat–Goat; Ox–Horse; Tiger–Snake; Rabbit–Dragon; Monkey–Pig; Rooster–Dog |
| Break (Po) | Rat–Rooster; Ox–Dragon; Tiger–Pig; Rabbit–Horse; Snake–Monkey; Goat–Dog |
These are relations between earthly branches, explained in full in branch relations. Popular culture uses them for sign compatibility, but a chart has eight characters and the year branch is only one of them; for matching two people, read the whole charts.
Three common misconceptions
Your sign changes at Lunar New Year.
That is the popular convention; BaZi changes the year at the Start of Spring. By our count the two rules give different signs on about 2.0% of days.
Signs that clash should not marry.
A clash between signs is only a clash between two year branches. Matching two people means reading both whole charts, and even the classical matching texts looked at more than the year branch.
People of the same sign have similar destinies.
Millions of people are born in any one year. In BaZi a person is read mainly from the Day Master and the balance of the whole chart; the sign is one character out of eight.
All twelve signs
A straight word: your sign is one branch of your chart
Your Chinese zodiac sign is the earthly branch of your birth year, one of the eight characters in a BaZi chart. What a chart says about personality, relationships or money comes mainly from the Day Master and the balance of the whole chart; millions of people share a birth year, and they do not share a destiny. Signs are a handy way to talk about years and about how you stand with Tai Sui, but they are not a way to sum a person up. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Your sign is the year pillar. There is also a month, a day and an hour.
Enter your birthday to cast all four pillars for free and see your Day Master, elements and Ten Gods.
Chinese zodiac FAQ
What is the order of the Chinese zodiac?
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, matching the earthly branches Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai.
What sign is this year, and next year?
2026 is a Bing-Wu year, the Year of the Horse; 2027 is a Ding-Wei year, the Year of the Goat. BaZi changes the year at the Start of Spring (Feb 4 in 2026); popular custom changes it at Lunar New Year (Feb 17).
Does the zodiac year start at Lunar New Year or at the Start of Spring?
Popular custom starts it at Lunar New Year; BaZi and Chinese metaphysics start it at the Start of Spring. The two can disagree for people born between late January and mid-February, about 7 days a year on average. Most English-language zodiac sites use Lunar New Year, which is why they sometimes disagree with a BaZi calculator.
What are Minguo (ROC) years?
Taiwan numbers years from 1912, the founding of the Republic of China: Gregorian year = Minguo year + 1911. Minguo 79 is 1990, a Horse year.