Chinese Zodiac Calculator
What is my Chinese zodiac animal?
Your animal, element and yin-yang polarity from the sexagenary cycle — with Chinese New Year computed from the moon, so a January birthday gets the right answer.
How this is worked out
- Chinese New Year is derived as the new moon falling between 21 January and 20 February in China's own zone, which is the rule that holds for every modern year.
- 1984 anchors the cycle: it was Jiǎ-Zǐ, a Wood Rat year and position 1 of 60.
Questions people ask
The things that come up about chinese zodiac calculators, answered plainly.
Why does my animal differ from other calculators?
Because the zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not 1 January — and that date moves between 21 January and 20 February. Anyone born in that window belongs to the previous animal in some years. This page computes the new moon rather than assuming a fixed date.
What is the element for?
The animals cycle every 12 years and the five elements every 10, so the pair repeats every 60 — the sexagenary cycle. A Wood Dragon comes round once a lifetime, which is why the element is named alongside the animal.
Related tools
Exact ages, next birthdays, anniversaries and the odder age scales.