Chinese zodiac calculator & animal signs
Find a year-based estimate of your animal sign, then explore its personality traditions and daily reading. Born in January or February? Check the Lunar New Year boundary below.
Does your birthday fall before Chinese New Year?
In the popular Lunar New Year convention, the animal year does not start on January 1. A birthday before that year’s Chinese New Year belongs to the previous animal year. January and February birthdays therefore need the full date checked against a calendar.
This calculator uses your calendar birth year only. It does not yet adjust for Lunar New Year or provide a precise animal sign by full date of birth. Other systems, including some BaZi methods, use a different year boundary; this is not a BaZi chart.
To check your date, find the first day of the first lunar month in the Hong Kong Observatory’s Gregorian–Lunar calendar tables.
Born in 1996: Rat or Pig?
The year-only calculator returns Rat for 1996. But the first lunar month began on February 19 in the Observatory’s 1996 calendar.
Under the Lunar New Year convention, a birthday from January 1 through February 18, 1996 belongs to the previous animal year, Pig. February 19 starts the Rat year. This example explains the boundary; it does not mean the calculator applies that correction automatically.
The 12 Chinese zodiac animals and personality traits
The cycle follows the order below. Traits are traditional symbolic associations, not fixed descriptions of your personality. Select your animal to explore its daily reading.
rat
Resourceful, observant, adaptable
Explore your sign ↗ox
Patient, dependable, grounded
Explore your sign ↗tiger
Brave, energetic, independent
Explore your sign ↗rabbit
Gentle, thoughtful, diplomatic
Explore your sign ↗dragon
Imaginative, spirited, ambitious
Explore your sign ↗snake
Perceptive, reflective, composed
Explore your sign ↗horse
Lively, expressive, adventurous
Explore your sign ↗goat
Creative, kind, considerate
Explore your sign ↗monkey
Inventive, playful, curious
Explore your sign ↗rooster
Organized, candid, attentive
Explore your sign ↗dog
Loyal, sincere, protective
Explore your sign ↗pig
Generous, warm, easygoing
Explore your sign ↗Looking for your Western zodiac sign?
Western date ranges use the month and day of your birthday. Your Chinese animal and your Western sign describe different symbolic systems.
Use the Western zodiac birthday calculator →