Chinese Zodiac Calculator
Your Chinese zodiac sign is an animal and an element drawn from the year you were born, in a cycle that repeats every sixty years. Enter your date of birth to find yours — the Chinese New Year dates are handled correctly, so January and February birthdays come out right.
What is the Chinese zodiac?
The Chinese zodiac (or sheng xiao) is a repeating cycle of twelve animals, each tied to a birth year and a set of personality traits. Layered on top are the five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water — which shift every two years. Put the twelve animals and five elements together and you get a sixty-year cycle, so a full combination like "Wood Dragon" only comes around once a lifetime. It's a tradition thousands of years old, and it happens to sit neatly alongside the generation you grew up in: both are stories about the era you arrived in.
How your sign is worked out
- The animal comes from your birth year, cycling Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.
- The Chinese New Year matters: the year turns over in late January or February, not on 1 January. If you were born before that year's New Year, you belong to the previous animal — the calculator above accounts for this automatically.
- The element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water) is set by your birth year too, changing every two years.
The 12 Chinese zodiac animals
Your sign is one more thread
Your Chinese sign and your generation both speak to the era you were born into. Gennie reads them alongside your name and numbers for one honest, specific read of who you are. It's free.
Get my full read, free →Frequently asked questions
What's my Chinese zodiac if I was born in January or February?
It depends on the exact date of Chinese New Year that year, which falls between late January and mid-February. If you were born before it, your sign is the previous year's animal. This calculator uses the real New Year dates, so it gets January and February birthdays right.
What is my Chinese element?
Your element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water) is set by your birth year and changes every two years. The calculator shows it alongside your animal, for example "Metal Rat" or "Wood Dragon".
Is the Chinese zodiac the same as my star sign?
No. Your star sign (Western astrology) comes from the month and day you were born. The Chinese zodiac comes from your birth year. They're two different systems and you have both.
Is the Chinese zodiac accurate?
Like all of this, we offer it for reflection and fun rather than as science. It's a rich, ancient tradition — take the parts that resonate and enjoy the rest.
Gennie is a product of Nellie Connect Ltd. The Chinese zodiac is offered for interest and reflection, not as scientific fact.