Chinese Zodiac Sign Calculator

Enter your date of birth and this calculator gives you your animal, your element, your polarity, and the exact zodiac year you belong to. It also tells you when the two year-boundary conventions disagree — which happens to everyone born in the first weeks of the year, and is why some people are surprised to learn they are not the sign they were told.

Why the same birthday can give two different animals

Chinese zodiac years do not begin on 1 January. Two boundaries are in use, and they sit up to eight weeks apart:

• Lichun (立春) — the solar term that marks the start of spring, falling on 3, 4 or 5 February. Traditional almanacs count the year from this moment, because the solar terms drive the whole system.
• Lunar New Year — the new moon between 21 January and 20 February. This is the boundary almost every consumer website uses, because it is easier to put on a calendar.

Between those dates the answers diverge. Born on 5 February 2024, for instance, Lichun had already passed (4 February, 16:21 CST), so tradition makes you a Wood Dragon — but Lunar New Year was not until 10 February, so the common lookup calls you a Water Rabbit. Both are defensible; only one matches your actual chart. We show you both and label which is which.

One caveat, stated plainly: the Lichun instant here is computed from the sun’s apparent longitude and lands within about ten minutes of published almanac values. That is irrelevant on a normal day; it only matters if you were born within minutes of midnight on 3–5 February. Send us your birth time and we will check it precisely.

Chinese zodiac years, 1924 to 2043

The table below gives the stem and branch name, the animal and element pairing, the polarity, and the date of Lunar New Year for each year. Use it when you want to look up a year rather than a birthday.

What your sign actually tells you

The animal is the starting point, not the answer. Your element changes the reading entirely — a Metal Rat and a Water Rat share an animal and almost nothing else. Add polarity and you get a temperament rather than a caricature.

For the full picture — animal, element, polarity, compatibility, and the year you are living through now — that is what our personalized reports are for.

Keep going

• Chinese zodiac compatibility — how any two animals are traditionally paired.
• Chinese zodiac years chart — the full 120-year table with elements and dates.
• Personalized reports — your Five-Element profile and the year ahead.