You’ve probably already heard of the 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs. In the traditional Chinese calendar there is a repeating cycle of 12 years, and each year is represented by a different animal sign.
In order, the animals are the mouse (rat), ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (goat), monkey, chicken (rooster), dog and pig.
If you want to ask somebody which animal they are you can say 你属什么? nǐ shǔ shénme? (literally, what do you belong too).
It’s also a subtle way of asking somebody you know well how old they are!
You would respond to this question by saying 我属 (兔) wǒ shǔ tù ‘I am a rabbit’ replacing the rabbit (tù) with your sign of the zodiac.
Because the year of a particular animal comes around every 12 years, you will have your animal year when you are 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72. It’s actually thought to be unlucky when your year comes around, and the best way to fend off this bad luck is to wear something red like an item of red clothing such red socks or underpants. Worth remembering if your year is coming around this year!
The animal signs of the Chinese zodiac
Rat – 鼠 shǔ
Ox – 牛 niú
Tiger – 虎 hǔ
Rabbit – 兔 tù
Dragon – 龙 lóng
Snake – 蛇 shé
Horse – 马 mǎ
Sheep – 羊 yáng
Monkey – 猴 hóu
Rooster – 鸡 jī
Dog – 狗 gǒu
Pig – 猪 zhū
What Chinese zodiac animal sign am I?
If you don’t know what animal sign you are, you can find out using the guide below. Remember that the date of Chinese New Year is calculated using the lunar calendar, so if your birthday lies in January or February, then look carefully, because your animal sign will depend on whether you were born before or after Chinese New Year.
| Year | Chinese New Year Date | Animal Sign |
| 1940 | 1940-02-08 | Dragon (1940-02-08—1941-01-26) |
| 1941 | 1941-01-27 | Snake (1941-01-27—1942-02-14) |
| 1942 | 1942-02-15 | Horse (1942-02-15—1943-02-03) |
| 1943 | 1943-02-04 | Sheep (1943-02-04—1944-01-24) |
| 1944 | 1944-01-25 | Monkey (1944-01-25—1945-02-12) |
| 1945 | 1945-02-13 | Rooster (1945-02-13—1946-01-31) |
| 1946 | 1946-02-01 | Dog (1946-02-01—1947-01-21) |
| 1947 | 1947-01-22 | Pig (1947-01-22—1948-02-09) |
| 1948 | 1948-02-10 | Rat (1948-02-10—1949-01-28) |
| 1949 | 1949-01-29 | Ox (1949-01-29—1950-02-16) |
| 1950 | 1950-02-17 | Tiger (1950-02-17—1951-02-05) |
| 1951 | 1951-02-06 | Rabbit (1951-02-06—1952-01-26) |
| 1952 | 1952-01-27 | Dragon (1952-01-27—1953-02-13) |
| 1953 | 1953-02-14 | Snake (1953-02-14—1954-02-02) |
| 1954 | 1954-02-03 | Horse (1954-02-03—1955-01-23) |
| 1955 | 1955-01-24 | Sheep (1955-01-24—1956-02-11) |
| 1956 | 1956-02-12 | Monkey (1956-02-12—1957-01-30) |
| 1957 | 1957-01-31 | Rooster (1957-01-31—1958-02-17) |
| 1958 | 1958-02-18 | Dog (1958-02-18—1959-02-07) |
| 1959 | 1959-02-08 | Pig (1959-02-08—1960-01-27) |
| 1960 | 1960-01-28 | Rat (1960-01-28—1961-02-14) |
| 1961 | 1961-02-15 | Ox (1961-02-15—1962-02-04) |
| 1962 | 1962-02-05 | Tiger (1962-02-05—1963-01-24) |
| 1963 | 1963-01-25 | Rabbit (1963-01-25—1964-02-12) |
| 1964 | 1964-02-13 | Dragon (1964-02-13—1965-02-01) |
| 1965 | 1965-02-02 | Snake (1965-02-02—1966-01-20) |
| 1966 | 1966-01-21 | Horse (1966-01-21—1967-02-08) |
| 1967 | 1967-02-09 | Sheep (1967-02-09—1968-01-29) |
| 1968 | 1968-01-30 | Monkey (1968-01-30—1969-02-16) |
| 1969 | 1969-02-17 | Rooster (1969-02-17—1970-02-05) |
| 1970 | 1970-02-06 | Dog (1970-02-06—1971-01-26) |
| 1971 | 1971-01-27 | Pig (1971-01-27—1972-02-14) |
| 1972 | 1972-02-15 | Rat (1972-02-15—1973-02-02) |
| 1973 | 1973-02-03 | Ox (1973-02-03—1974-01-22) |
| 1974 | 1974-01-23 | Tiger (1974-01-23—1975-02-10) |
| 1975 | 1975-02-11 | Rabbit (1975-02-11—1976-01-30) |
| 1976 | 1976-01-31 | Dragon (1976-01-31—1977-02-17) |
| 1977 | 1977-02-18 | Snake (1977-02-18—1978-02-06) |
| 1978 | 1978-02-07 | Horse (1978-02-07—1979-01-27) |
| 1979 | 1979-01-28 | Sheep (1979-01-28—1980-02-15) |
| 1980 | 1980-02-16 | Monkey (1980-02-16—1981-02-04) |
| 1981 | 1981-02-05 | Rooster (1981-02-05—1982-01-24) |
| 1982 | 1982-01-25 | Dog (1982-01-25—1983-02-12) |
| 1983 | 1983-02-13 | Pig (1983-02-13—1984-02-01) |
| 1984 | 1984-02-02 | Rat (1984-02-02—1985-02-19) |
| 1985 | 1985-02-20 | Ox (1985-02-20—1986-02-08) |
| 1986 | 1986-02-09 | Tiger (1986-02-09—1987-01-28) |
| 1987 | 1987-01-29 | Rabbit (1987-01-29—1988-02-16) |
| 1988 | 1988-02-17 | Dragon (1988-02-17—1989-02-05) |
| 1989 | 1989-02-06 | Snake (1989-02-06—1990-01-26) |
| 1990 | 1990-01-27 | Horse (1990-01-27—1991-02-14) |
| 1991 | 1991-02-15 | Sheep (1991-02-15—1992-02-03) |
| 1992 | 1992-02-04 | Monkey (1992-02-04—1993-01-22) |
| 1993 | 1993-01-23 | Rooster (1993-01-23—1994-02-09) |
| 1994 | 1994-02-10 | Dog (1994-02-10—1995-01-30) |
| 1995 | 1995-01-31 | Pig (1995-01-31—1996-02-18) |
| 1996 | 1996-02-19 | Rat (1996-02-19—1997-02-06) |
| 1997 | 1997-02-07 | Ox (1997-02-07—1998-01-27) |
| 1998 | 1998-01-28 | Tiger (1998-01-28—1999-02-15) |
| 1999 | 1999-02-16 | Rabbit (1999-02-16—2000-02-04) |
| 2000 | 2000-02-05 | Dragon (2000-02-05—2001-01-23) |
| 2001 | 2001-01-24 | Snake (2001-01-24—2002-02-11) |
| 2002 | 2002-02-12 | Horse (2002-02-12—2003-01-31) |
| 2003 | 2003-02-01 | Sheep (2003-02-01—2004-01-21) |
| 2004 | 2004-01-22 | Monkey (2004-01-22—2005-02-08) |
| 2005 | 2005-02-09 | Rooster (2005-02-09—2006-01-28) |
| 2006 | 2006-01-29 | Dog (2006-01-29—2007-02-17) |
| 2007 | 2007-02-18 | Pig (2007-02-18—2008-02-06) |
| 2008 | 2008-02-07 | Rat (2008-02-07—2009-01-25) |
| 2009 | 2009-01-26 | Ox (2009-01-26—2010-02-13) |
| 2010 | 2010-02-14 | Tiger (2010-02-14—2011-02-02) |
| 2011 | 2011-02-03 | Rabbit (2011-02-03—2012-01-22) |
| 2012 | 2012-01-23 | Dragon (2012-01-23—2013-02-09) |
| 2013 | 2013-02-10 | Snake (2013-02-10—2014-01-30) |
| 2014 | 2014-01-31 | Horse (2014-01-31—2015-02-18) |
| 2015 | 2015-02-19 | Sheep (2015-02-19—2016-02-07) |
| 2016 | 2016-02-08 | Monkey (2016-02-08—2017-01-27) |
| 2017 | 2017-01-28 | Rooster (2017-01-28—2018-02-15) |
| 2018 | 2018-02-16 | Dog (2018-02-16—2019-02-04) |
| 2019 | 2019-02-05 | Pig (2019-02-05—2020-01-24) |
| 2020 | 2020-01-25 | Rat (2020-01-25—2021-02-11) |
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