The Chinese Zodiac

The zodiac wheel

The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac sit in a fixed circle, in the order they finished the Great Race. Each one rules a year, a two-hour slice of the day and a direction of the compass, so the wheel is also a clock and a map. Tap any animal to meet it.

鼠 牛 虎 兔 龙 蛇 马 羊 猴 鸡 狗 猪

马

Horse 🔈

mǎ · 7th of 12 · 午 wǔ

2002 · 2014 · 2026

Meet the Horse

The 12 Chinese zodiac animals

In order, with recent years and the character each one is written with. The traits are the traditional ones, so treat them as folklore, not fate.

1st · 子 zǐ · Yang鼠Ratshǔ2008 · 2020 · 2032Quick-witted, resourceful and charming 2nd · 丑 chǒu · Yin牛Oxniú2009 · 2021 · 2033Diligent, dependable and patient 3rd · 寅 yín · Yang虎Tigerhǔ2010 · 2022 · 2034Brave, confident and competitive 4th · 卯 mǎo · Yin兔Rabbittù2011 · 2023 · 2035Gentle, elegant and quietly clever 5th · 辰 chén · Yang龙Dragonlóng2012 · 2024 · 2036Bold, ambitious and charismatic 6th · 巳 sì · Yin蛇Snakeshé2013 · 2025 · 2037Wise, intuitive and composed 7th · 午 wǔ · Yang马Horsemǎ2014 · 2026 · 2038Energetic, warm and free-spirited 8th · 未 wèi · Yin羊Goatyáng2003 · 2015 · 2027Gentle, artistic and kind 9th · 申 shēn · Yang猴Monkeyhóu2004 · 2016 · 2028Clever, curious and playful 10th · 酉 yǒu · Yin鸡Roosterjī2005 · 2017 · 2029Observant, hard-working and frank 11th · 戌 xū · Yang狗Doggǒu2006 · 2018 · 2030Loyal, honest and protective 12th · 亥 hài · Yin猪Pigzhū2007 · 2019 · 2031Generous, easy-going and sincere

The legend of the Great Race

Like most folk tales, the Great Race has many versions. In some the Dragon helps the Rabbit, in others the Rooster rides the raft alone. The order of the animals, though, never changes.

Animals, elements and the 60-year cycle

In the Chinese zodiac, every year has a two-character Chinese name. The second character is one of the twelve Earthly Branches (地支 dìzhī), and each branch is an animal: 午 wǔ is the Horse, 未 wèi is the Goat. The first character is one of ten Heavenly Stems (天干 tiāngān), which come in pairs for the five elements.

Ten stems against twelve branches line up again only every 60 years. That’s why a Fire Horse year such as 2026 (丙午 bǐngwǔ) last happened in 1966, and why reaching 60, your first full cycle, is such a big birthday in Chinese culture. There’s a shortcut, too: the last digit of any year gives its element, as the chips above show.

Each animal also has a fixed element and is either yin or yang. The yang animals (Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Dog) alternate with the yin animals (Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Rooster, Pig) all the way round the wheel.

The January trap. The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, which moves between 21 January and 20 February. Anyone born in January or early February may belong to the previous animal. The finder at the top of this page, and the chart below, use the exact date.

Chinese zodiac years chart, 1924–2031

Every year from 1924 to 2031 with its exact start and end date, its animal and its element. Type a year to jump to it, or filter by animal.

Scroll the chart for more years.

The twelve animals in Mandarin

Every animal is a single character, and most are among the first characters learners meet. Tap to hear each one, then try the most useful zodiac question in Chinese.

Asking 你属什么？ is a polite way to work out someone’s age without asking it, because the answer narrows it to one year in twelve. Want to write the characters too? Each animal page shows its stroke order, and you can practise on the free writing practice board.

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