Chinese zodiac year lookup. Any year → zodiac animal + 年干支 + 纳音 + element.
Chinese Zodiac Year Lookup (生肖年查询)
How to use
Enter a year
Gregorian year 1900-2100.
View the zodiac
12 zodiac + emoji + year.
View ganzhi + 纳音
60-jiazi year stem-branch + 纳音 + dominant element.
Find adjacent same-zodiac years
Previous + next year with the same zodiac (12 years apart).
Chinese Zodiac: A 2000-Year Year-Marking System
The Chinese zodiac is an "animal-cycle" representation of the traditional year-marking system — 12 animals mapped to 12 earthly branches, repeating every 12 years. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. Formed no later than the Eastern Han dynasty (~100 CE), in continuous use for ~2000 years.
Zodiac vs full year ganzhi
The zodiac is only the branch part (12 options) of the full year stem-branch. The complete year ganzhi = stem + branch (60 options), so same-zodiac different-year combinations can differ significantly (e.g. 2014 甲午 = sand-metal vs 2026 丙午 = celestial-water — both Horse years, different elements).
ASEAN Chinese usage
HK/Taiwan/Macau/SG/MY/ID Chinese reference zodiac for New Year greetings, matchmaking, and naming. The tool helps quickly check grandparents\' birth-year zodiacs or future years (e.g. "what zodiac is the year I turn 70?").
Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese variants
Vietnamese zodiac swaps the rabbit (卯) for the cat. Korean and Japanese variants are otherwise identical. A nice example of cultural localisation.
10 Facts about the Chinese Zodiac
The 12 zodiac system was fully formed by the Eastern Han (~100 CE); Wang Chong's 《论衡》 is the earliest systematic record.
Zodiac switches at Lunar New Year, not Jan 1 — 2026-Jan births are still Snake; only post-Feb-17 (CNY) are Horse.
Zodiac cycles every 12 years; ganzhi every 60. Same-zodiac different-year (2014 vs 2026 horse) differ in 纳音 + element.
Dragon years see baby-count spikes — 2024 (甲辰 Dragon) saw mainland China births 12% higher than 2023 (National Bureau of Statistics).
Vietnamese zodiac swaps the rabbit (卯) for the cat — an interesting cultural localisation. Other 11 animals match Chinese tradition.
In "本命年" (your own zodiac year), tradition prescribes red clothing — red underwear, socks, threads. The most universal Chinese zodiac ritual.
The 12 zodiac signs represent 12 different energy cycles, not "12 personality types". Same-zodiac people vary enormously; the sign is just a cosmic cycle marker.
HK 2024 lottery: each zodiac has a "lucky number" = its branch position (rat=1, ox=2 etc). Many players choose their own zodiac's number.
Zodiac variants exist across East Asia — Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia. A regional cultural shared marker.
Pairs with RT-CHN-007 (Zodiac Compatibility) + RT-CHN-013 (Ganzhi). Use this tool for zodiac-year lookup; compatibility for relationships; ganzhi for full stem-branch.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Zodiac switches at Lunar New Year (春节). 2026 CNY = Feb 17; Jan 1 – Feb 16 births are still 2025 Snake.
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Tradition holds 本命年 is volatile due to "Tai Sui sits overhead". Practices: wear red, carry a Tai Sui talisman, ritual blessing.
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Independent systems. Chinese zodiac is by birth year (12-year cycle); Western signs are by birth month (12-monthly cycle). Not interchangeable.
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No. Browser-local, no server calls.
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1900-2100 (200 years). Covers 3-5 generations of most families.
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Not scientifically validated. Zodiac is a cultural label, not a fate determinant. Treat as cultural interest + social conversation.
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Useful for: when's the next year of your zodiac? When was your parent's last same-zodiac year?
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This tool looks up a single person's zodiac; RT-CHN-007 (Zodiac Compatibility) checks two-person compatibility. Complementary.
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This tool simplifies to "year → zodiac"; the ganzhi converter (RT-CHN-013) shows full year/month/day stem-branches.
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By lunar. Zodiac switches on Lunar New Year. The tool takes Gregorian-year input but maps to the lunar new year of that Gregorian year.
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