龙

Are you a Dragon?

The zodiac year doesn’t start on 1 January. It starts at Chinese New Year, which falls anywhere from 21 January to 20 February. So if you were born in January or February, your birth year alone can’t tell you your animal. Enter your full date of birth for the exact answer.

Every Year of the Dragon, with exact dates

Dates follow the lunar calendar’s New Year, the convention used for the zodiac in everyday Chinese life. Some fortune-tellers instead start the year at 立春 (lìchūn, Start of Spring, around 4 February), so a few early-February birthdays get read differently. In 2036 New Year comes first, on 28 January, and 立春 follows on 4 February, so a birthday from 28 January to 3 February is a Dragon by the lunar calendar but still a Rabbit by the 立春 count.

How to write 龙, and the creature behind it

龙 (lóng) began as a picture of an animal nobody has ever seen. On Shang oracle bones it is a beast with a gaping mouth and a crest on its head, its long body curling round into an S, more snake than lizard. Scholars still debate what inspired it: snakes, crocodiles and even thunder have all been proposed. Over the centuries the open mouth turned into 月, here a form of 肉 (flesh), and the body into a row of fins, giving the traditional 龍 its 16 strokes. The simplified form keeps just a quick sketch of the creature in five.

Six characters built from 龙

The dragon is the grandest animal in the zodiac, yet inside other characters 龙 nearly always does a humble job: it lends its sound. Only now and then does it bring the dragon itself. Tap the speaker to hear each one.

Want the system behind cards like these? Read how Chinese characters actually work and the stroke order rules, then practise 龙 on the free writing practice board.

A dragon that brings rain, not fire

“Dragon” is the best English has, but 龙 is a different creature. The Western dragon is a fire-breathing villain for a knight to slay. The Chinese dragon is a wingless, mostly benevolent power of water and weather, linked with rain, rivers and the sea. The Shuowen Jiezi calls it the chief of all scaled creatures, able to grow huge or tiny at will, rising to the sky at the spring equinox and diving into the depths at the autumn equinox. In everyday Chinese, 龙 also turns up in some unexpected words:

For centuries the dragon was also the emblem of the emperor, and its prestige never faded. Parents still say 望子成龙 (wàng zǐ chéng lóng), “hoping your son becomes a dragon”, for the high hopes they hold for a child. Calling someone a dragon in Chinese is a compliment.

The Dragon personality

Zodiac personalities are folk tradition, not science, and Chinese people treat them much the way others treat star signs: half seriously, often with a smile. Still, the character traditionally given to people born in the Year of the Dragon is remarkably consistent across almanacs. It’s the most commanding of the twelve, and traditionally the most admired.

And the other side

Lucky things, by tradition

Almanacs don’t fully agree on the Dragon’s lucky charms, and we’d rather show you that than pretend otherwise. Here is what the major sources share, and where they split.

Which Dragon are you? The five elements

Every animal returns once every 12 years, but it pairs with each of the five elements only once every 60. So a 1976 Dragon and a 2036 Dragon share both animal and element: both are Fire Dragons.

Dragon compatibility

Zodiac compatibility isn’t a list of opinions. It’s geometry. Place the twelve animals around a circle, and the classic matches form fixed shapes: triangles of allies, pairs of secret friends, and opposites that clash. Here is the Dragon’s position.

See the other pairings from each side: the Rat, the Monkey, the Rooster and the Dog.

Try the compatibility calculator

The Dragon in Chinese culture

Famous people born in the Year of the Dragon

Here are nine well-known people born in the Year of the Dragon, from the martial-arts screen to the art gallery. Two of them were born just before Chinese New Year, which is exactly where most published lists slip.

• Salvador DalíSurrealist painter, SpainBorn 11 May 1904 · Wood Dragon
• John LennonSinger and songwriter, The BeatlesBorn 9 Oct 1940 · Metal Dragon
• Bruce Lee 李小龙Actor and martial artist, Hong Kong and the United StatesBorn 27 Nov 1940 · Metal Dragon
• Amy Tan 谭恩美Novelist, United StatesBorn 19 Feb 1952 · Water Dragon
• Teresa Teng 邓丽君Singer, TaiwanBorn 29 Jan 1953 · Water DragonBorn 16 days before Chinese New Year 1953, so many lists get this one wrong
• Keanu ReevesActor, CanadaBorn 2 Sep 1964 · Wood Dragon
• Maggie Cheung 张曼玉Actor, Hong KongBorn 20 Sep 1964 · Wood Dragon
• ShakiraSinger and songwriter, ColombiaBorn 2 Feb 1977 · Fire DragonBorn 16 days before Chinese New Year 1977, so many lists get this one wrong
• AdeleSinger and songwriter, EnglandBorn 5 May 1988 · Earth Dragon

We checked each full date of birth against the exact Chinese New Year date for that year, so January and early-February birthdays are placed in the right animal year.

The Year of the Fire Dragon, 2036

The Fire Dragon year, 丙辰年 (bǐngchén nián), runs from 28 January 2036 to 14 February 2037. A leap sixth month makes it thirteen lunar months long. Fire is said to add heat to the Dragon’s ambition, so tradition reads 2036 as a year for bold starts, leadership and big plans. For the festival itself, the customs and the greetings, see our guide to the Spring Festival.

Talk about your sign in Mandarin

Asking someone’s zodiac animal is one of the most natural small-talk questions in Chinese, and a polite way to guess an age without asking. Here is the whole conversation.

Common misunderstandings

• “I was born on 2 February 1977, so I’m a Snake.” Not quite: the Snake year only began on 18 February 1977, so you’re a Fire Dragon, like Shakira. Check any date with the tool above.
• “Chinese dragons breathe fire and hoard gold.” That’s the Western dragon. The Chinese 龙 belongs to water: in folk religion the Dragon Kings (龙王 lóngwáng) rule the seas and send the rain.
• “恐龙 is a kind of dragon.” It’s the everyday word for a dinosaur. Palaeontology keeps the pattern: 霸王龙 bàwánglóng, literally “tyrant king 龙”, is T. rex.
• “The Dragon is the luckiest sign, so it gets on with everyone.” Tradition gives it a clash sign like every other animal: the Dog, sitting directly opposite on the zodiac wheel.

Quick quiz

FAQs

Keep exploring