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Chinese Zodiac Calculator

Find your Chinese zodiac animal, element, and yin/yang polarity from your birth date. Accounts for the Chinese New Year boundary so dates in January and early February resolve to the correct lunar year.

Examples

Year of the Earth Dragon

A spring birthday in 1988 — comfortably after Chinese New Year on 17 February.

Date of birth
May 15, 1988
Animal
Dragon
Element
Earth
Yin / Yang
Yang
Recent years
1988, 2000, 2012, 2024

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How It Works

Formula

animalIndex=(Ylunar−1900) mod 12\text{animalIndex} = (Y_{\text{lunar}} - 1900) \bmod 12

element=⌊((Ylunar−4) mod 10)/2⌋\text{element} = \left\lfloor ((Y_{\text{lunar}} - 4) \bmod 10) / 2 \right\rfloor

yang⇔Ylunar mod 2=0\text{yang} \Leftrightarrow Y_{\text{lunar}} \bmod 2 = 0

Variables, symbols and units

YlunarY_{\text{lunar}}

The lunar (Chinese) year your birth date falls into

animalIndex\text{animalIndex}

Position in the 12-animal cycle, 0 = Rat through 11 = Pig

element\text{element}

Element index, 0 = Wood, 1 = Fire, 2 = Earth, 3 = Metal, 4 = Water
Calculation method explained

Enter your date of birth. The calculator looks up the Chinese New Year date for that year — if your birth date falls before it, the lunar year is the previous one. From the lunar year, it derives your animal (12-year cycle), element (10-year stem cycle), and yin/yang polarity, plus the four most recent years that share the same animal.

How a birth date resolves to a Chinese zodiac sign:

  1. Look up the Chinese New Year date for the Gregorian year of birth from the embedded 1900–2100 table.
  2. If the birth date is before that Chinese New Year, the lunar year is the previous Gregorian year. Otherwise it is the same year.
  3. Animal: (Ylunar−1900) mod 12(Y_{\text{lunar}} - 1900) \bmod 12, indexed from Rat (0) through Pig (11).
  4. Element: derived from the Heavenly Stem cycle — last digit of the lunar year groups two-by-two: 4/5 = Wood, 6/7 = Fire, 8/9 = Earth, 0/1 = Metal, 2/3 = Water.
  5. Yin/Yang: even lunar years are yang, odd lunar years are yin.
  6. Recent years: stepping back by 12 from today, the four most recent years that share the same animal.
References and source material

Examples

Year of the Earth DragonMay 15, 1988 → Dragon

A spring birthday in 1988 — comfortably after Chinese New Year on 17 February.

Date of birth
May 15, 1988
Animal
Dragon
Born in the gap before Chinese New YearJan 25, 2000 → Rabbit

A January 2000 birthday — Chinese New Year fell on 5 February that year, so the lunar year is still 1999 (Rabbit, not Dragon).

Date of birth
Jan 25, 2000
Animal
Rabbit
Year of the Wood DragonJul 4, 2024 → Dragon

A summer birthday in 2024 — after Chinese New Year on 10 February.

Date of birth
Jul 4, 2024
Animal
Dragon

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Chinese zodiac differ from my Gregorian birth year?
The Chinese zodiac follows the lunisolar calendar, whose new year falls between roughly 21 January and 21 February. If you were born before Chinese New Year in your Gregorian birth year, you belong to the previous lunar year and animal.
How is the element decided?
The element follows the 60-year stem-and-branch cycle. Each element spans two consecutive lunar years: years ending 4/5 are Wood, 6/7 Fire, 8/9 Earth, 0/1 Metal, 2/3 Water.
What does yin or yang mean for my zodiac?
Even-numbered lunar years are yang (active, outward), odd-numbered lunar years are yin (receptive, inward). Combined with your animal and element, this gives a 60-year unique combination.
What date range does the calculator support?
The calculator covers Chinese New Year from 1900 through 2100. Dates outside that window return an out-of-range message.
How accurate is the lunar New Year date?
The dates come from official Chinese astronomical reckoning and were cross-referenced against the Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables, timeanddate.com, and chinesenewyear.net.

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