Chinese Horoscope Calculator
Enter your birth date to find the Chinese zodiac animal associated with your birth year. For dates close to Lunar New Year, the calculator checks the transition date for the selected year when that date is available.
Please enter a valid date.
The 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig repeat in a 12-year cycle.
How to Use the Chinese Horoscope Calculator
- Enter your full birth date.
- Select Calculate.
- The result shows the zodiac animal for the relevant Chinese zodiac year.
Pick your full birth date and select Calculate. The result shows the animal and the Chinese zodiac year it belongs to. The animals repeat every 12 years in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
Why the birth date matters
The Chinese zodiac year does not always start on January 1. It begins around Lunar New Year, so people born in January or February can fall under the previous zodiac year depending on the exact date.
How the Chinese Zodiac Year Is Calculated
The calculator checks the entered Gregorian birth date against the Lunar New Year boundary for the relevant year. If the birthday falls before that year's Lunar New Year, the previous Chinese zodiac year is used. This matters because the Chinese zodiac does not switch animals on January 1. For example, a person born in early February may belong to the previous animal year while someone born later in the same month belongs to the next one. The result is a calendar-based identification of the 12-animal cycle, not a full BaZi or Four Pillars chart.
The animal is found by subtracting 4 from the Chinese zodiac year and dividing by 12. The remainder picks the animal from the list, with 0 being Rat. For example, 2026 − 4 = 2022, which leaves a remainder of 6, so the year is Horse. Before that, the calculator compares your date with that year’s Lunar New Year date and moves you to the previous year if your date is earlier.
Worked Example
Worked example: enter 5 February 2026. Lunar New Year in 2026 falls on 17 February, so this date still belongs to the previous Chinese year, 2025, and the result is Snake. Enter 17 February 2026 or any later date in 2026, such as 20 February, and the result is Horse.
Dates from before 2020 work the same way. Lunar New Year 1990 fell on 27 January, so 26 January 1990 gives Snake (the 1989 year) and 27 January 1990 gives Horse. The calculator has Lunar New Year dates for 1900 to 2050. Outside that range it uses the calendar year, so a January or February birthday before 1900 or after 2050 may show the wrong animal. For example, 1 June 2000 gives Dragon, because Lunar New Year 2000 had already passed.
Chinese Zodiac Years by Animal (1960–2031)
| Animal | Years |
|---|---|
| Rat | 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Ox | 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Tiger | 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022 |
| Rabbit | 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
| Dragon | 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Snake | 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 |
| Horse | 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Goat | 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027 |
| Monkey | 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 |
| Rooster | 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029 |
| Dog | 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030 |
| Pig | 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031 |
Each year starts at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. If you were born in January or February, enter your exact birth date in the calculator above, because you may belong to the previous animal.
Chinese Horoscope Calculator — FAQs
Is the Chinese zodiac based only on the year?
The animal cycle is year-based, but the exact Chinese zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year rather than January 1.
What if I was born in January or February?
Use your exact birth date. The calculator accounts for the Lunar New Year transition dates included in its data.
Does this calculate a full Chinese birth chart?
No. It identifies the 12-animal zodiac sign only; it does not calculate BaZi, Four Pillars or a full astrology chart.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
Enter your full date of birth in the calculator above. It checks the Lunar New Year date for your birth year, so January and February birthdays get the right animal. You can also look up your birth year in the table, but check the exact date if you were born early in the year.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign if I was born in 1990?
If you were born on 27 January 1990 or later, your sign is Horse. If you were born before 27 January 1990, you still belong to the 1989 year, which is Snake.
Year animal versus a full Chinese astrology chart
This calculator returns the year’s animal using the Lunar New Year dates in its supported table. Searches for a Chinese zodiac birth chart, or a calculator using year, month, day and hour, refer to a broader calculation than this tool provides.
It does not ask for birth time or location and does not calculate the Four Pillars, a rising sign or a complete BaZi chart. Different astrological systems may also use different year boundaries. Use the result as the Lunar New Year-based animal described here.
For a January or February birthday, enter the complete date instead of relying only on an animal-year list. The stored boundary dates cover 1900 through 2050; outside that range the tool falls back to the calendar year and early-year results may be incorrect.