Rat years and their exact dates
Rat years between 1924 and 2032: 1924 (Wood, Feb 5 – Jan 23); 1936 (Fire, Jan 24 – Feb 10); 1948 (Earth, Feb 10 – Jan 28); 1960 (Metal, Jan 28 – Feb 14); 1972 (Water, Feb 15 – Feb 2); 1984 (Wood, Feb 2 – Feb 19); 1996 (Fire, Feb 19 – Feb 6); 2008 (Earth, Feb 7 – Jan 25); 2020 (Metal, Jan 25 – Feb 11); 2032 (Water, Feb 11 – Jan 30). The next one begins on February 11, 2032 (Water Rat). Watch January and February birthdays: the 2020 Rat year only started on January 25, 2020, so anyone born on January 24, 2020 still belongs to the Pig year.
The Rat in Chinese astrology
The Rat is the earthly branch 子 (zǐ). Its fixed element is water and it is yang; it also rules the double hour 23:00–01:00. Tradition associates it with these qualities: quick-witted, resourceful, sociable. It forms a trine with Dragon and Monkey and clashes with the Horse. These are symbolic associations, not predictions.
How to use
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Enter your date of birth. Time and time zone are optional and only matter close to Lichun in early February.
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Read your animal, element, yin or yang and the exact dates of your Chinese year.
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Check the traditional best matches, the clash sign and the current Chinese year.
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Use the table to see every year of your animal from 1924 to 2043.
Why your birth year alone is not enough
The Chinese zodiac year does not start on 1 January but at Chinese New Year, which moves between 21 January and 20 February. Someone born on 1 February 1984 is a Pig, not a Rat, because the Year of the Rat began on 2 February 1984. This calculator compares your birth date with the exact New Year date of that year, so January and February birthdays get the right animal.
How Chinese New Year is calculated
Chinese New Year is the second new moon after the December solstice, counted in China time (UTC+8). In years where the lunar calendar inserts a leap month just before New Year, as happens in 2033, it moves to the third new moon. The tool computes the solstice and the new moons astronomically and applies the official rule, including the leap-month check, for every year from 1900 to 2100. The results match the published New Year dates.
Animals, elements and yin and yang
The twelve animals combine with five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water), each lasting two consecutive years, the first yang and the second yin. Together they form the 60-year cycle of the Chinese calendar, written as a pair of characters such as 甲子 or 丙午. In Chinese astrology the animal is associated with your outward character and the element with its tone, and each element is linked to a traditional colour, which is where names like Red Fire Horse come from.
Lunar New Year or Lichun?
Popular horoscopes change the animal at Chinese New Year. BaZi, the Four Pillars system, uses the solar calendar instead and starts the year at Lichun, the beginning of spring, when the Sun reaches 315° of longitude around 4 February. The calculator shows both. If they disagree for your birthday, that is expected rather than an error; the traits and matches are traditional symbolism, meant for fun and self-reflection.
Frequently asked questions
What is my Chinese zodiac sign if I was born in January?
If you were born before that year’s Chinese New Year, you belong to the previous year’s animal. Enter your date and the calculator compares it with the exact New Year date automatically.
What Chinese year is it now?
The result panel always shows the current Chinese year with its animal, element and exact start and end dates, calculated from today’s date.
Which signs are most compatible?
Tradition groups the animals into four trines (Rat–Dragon–Monkey, Ox–Snake–Rooster, Tiger–Horse–Dog, Rabbit–Goat–Pig) and six harmonious pairs. The sign six places away is the clash sign. The calculator lists all of them for your animal.
Does the birth time matter?
For the popular lunar-year sign, no: only the date matters. For the BaZi solar year it matters only if you were born within a day of Lichun, so the tool asks for the time in that case.