Chinese Zodiac Calculator: Find Your Animal and Element

Enter a birth date and get three things at once: the animal, the year element, and where that pair sits in the 60-year cycle. The year pillar is judged by 立春 — the rule BaZi actually uses — not by Chinese New Year.

Free Chinese Zodiac Calculator

Find out your Chinese zodiac sign based on your birth year and learn its meaning.

Find your Chinese zodiac sign instantly

Our free Chinese zodiac calculator helps you discover your zodiac animal sign based on your birth year.

How this Chinese zodiac calculator works

Chinese astrology does not read a zodiac animal from the calendar year on its own. It reads a year pillar — a stem and a branch, one character each — and the animal comes from the branch while the element comes from the stem. That is why the two cycles do not line up: the animal repeats every 12 years, the element every 10, and the exact pair only returns after 60.

The rule that decides which year you belong to is 立春, the start of spring, which falls on 3–5 February and happens at a specific moment. Chinese New Year is a different date, and in some years the gap is almost two weeks. In 2026, 立春 is 4 February at 04:03 Beijing time while Chinese New Year is 17 February; in 2027, 立春 is 4 February at 09:47 and Chinese New Year is 6 February. Someone born on 5 February 2027 is a Goat here, and a Horse on any calculator that switches at Chinese New Year.

Want the whole chart? Use the full BaZi calculator — it takes birth time and birthplace into account as well.

2026 and 2027: which animal is it?

YearYear pillarAnimalElementStarts at 立春 (Beijing)
2026丙午HorseYang Fire4 February 2026, 04:03
2027丁未GoatYin Fire4 February 2027, 09:47

Both years are Fire, which is why the headlines say “Fire Horse” and “Fire Goat”. The element is shared by ten consecutive years — 2026 and 2027 look alike on that axis and differ on the animal, which is exactly the point of having two cycles.

All 60 combinations

Every possible year pillar, in calendar order. Find your animal, then read the element next to it — the same animal appears five times across the cycle with five different elements.

#PillarAnimalElement#PillarAnimalElement
1甲子RatYang Wood31甲午HorseYang Wood
2乙丑OxYin Wood32乙未GoatYin Wood
3丙寅TigerYang Fire33丙申MonkeyYang Fire
4丁卯RabbitYin Fire34丁酉RoosterYin Fire
5戊辰DragonYang Earth35戊戌DogYang Earth
6己巳SnakeYin Earth36己亥PigYin Earth
7庚午HorseYang Metal37庚子RatYang Metal
8辛未GoatYin Metal38辛丑OxYin Metal
9壬申MonkeyYang Water39壬寅TigerYang Water
10癸酉RoosterYin Water40癸卯RabbitYin Water
11甲戌DogYang Wood41甲辰DragonYang Wood
12乙亥PigYin Wood42乙巳SnakeYin Wood
13丙子RatYang Fire43丙午HorseYang Fire
14丁丑OxYin Fire44丁未GoatYin Fire
15戊寅TigerYang Earth45戊申MonkeyYang Earth
16己卯RabbitYin Earth46己酉RoosterYin Earth
17庚辰DragonYang Metal47庚戌DogYang Metal
18辛巳SnakeYin Metal48辛亥PigYin Metal
19壬午HorseYang Water49壬子RatYang Water
20癸未GoatYin Water50癸丑OxYin Water
21甲申MonkeyYang Wood51甲寅TigerYang Wood
22乙酉RoosterYin Wood52乙卯RabbitYin Wood
23丙戌DogYang Fire53丙辰DragonYang Fire
24丁亥PigYin Fire54丁巳SnakeYin Fire
25戊子RatYang Earth55戊午HorseYang Earth
26己丑OxYin Earth56己未GoatYin Earth
27庚寅TigerYang Metal57庚申MonkeyYang Metal
28辛卯RabbitYin Metal58辛酉RoosterYin Metal
29壬辰DragonYang Water59壬戌DogYang Water
30癸巳SnakeYin Water60癸亥PigYin Water

Compatibility at a glance

Two branch relationships do most of the work in a quick compatibility check: the pairs that combine (六合) and the pairs that clash (六冲). This is the year-branch view only — a real compatibility reading compares whole charts, including the day pillar, which carries more weight.

Pairs that combine (六合)

  • Rat (子) + Ox (丑)
  • Tiger (寅) + Pig (亥)
  • Rabbit (卯) + Dog (戌)
  • Dragon (辰) + Rooster (酉)
  • Snake (巳) + Monkey (申)
  • Horse (午) + Goat (未)

Pairs that clash (六冲)

  • Rat (子) + Horse (午)
  • Ox (丑) + Goat (未)
  • Tiger (寅) + Monkey (申)
  • Rabbit (卯) + Rooster (酉)
  • Dragon (辰) + Dog (戌)
  • Snake (巳) + Pig (亥)

Want the full comparison rather than the year branch? Use the BaZi compatibility calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Chinese zodiac sign based on the lunar new year or on 立春?

On 立春 (the start of spring, usually 3–5 February), not on Chinese New Year. This is the same rule BaZi uses for the year pillar, and it is where many online calculators disagree: someone born on 5 February 2027 is a Goat here, while a calculator that switches at Chinese New Year calls them a Horse until 6 February.

How do I find my Chinese zodiac animal and element by date of birth?

Enter your birth date above. The calculator reads the year pillar for that date, which gives both the animal (from the branch) and the element (from the stem). The element repeats in a ten-year cycle, while the animal repeats in twelve, so the two only realign every sixty years — that combination is your position in the 60-year cycle.

What is the zodiac for 2026 and 2027?

2026 is 丙午, the Fire Horse. 2027 is 丁未, the Fire Goat, and it begins at 立春 on 4 February 2027 — not on Chinese New Year (6 February 2027). Anyone born between those two dates is still a Horse by the rule used here.

Does my birth time matter for the zodiac?

Only if you were born on the day 立春 falls. 立春 happens at a specific moment, so a birth a few hours before it belongs to the previous year. For every other day of the year the time changes nothing here — it does matter for your full chart, where the hour pillar is one of the four.

Is the year element the same as my Day Master element?

No. The year element (the one this calculator shows) describes the year you were born in. The Day Master is the element of your birth day, and in BaZi it is the one that represents you. They can differ, and when they do, the Day Master is what a reading is built on.

Why does the same animal appear with different elements?

Because the animal cycle is twelve years and the element cycle is ten. Each animal returns every twelve years with a different element, and only after sixty years does the exact stem-and-branch pair repeat — one full 60-year cycle. That is why "Wood Dragon" and "Fire Dragon" are different years with different characters.

Your animal is one of eight characters

The zodiac animal is the year branch. A full chart adds the month, day and hour pillars — the day pillar is the one a reader actually interprets.

Get my full BaZi chart →