You can find which Chinese zodiac you are by matching your birth year to one of the 12 animals in a repeating cycle, but you also need to watch out for people born in January or early February, since the Chinese New Year date shifts each year.

Quick Scoop: How to tell “which Chinese zodiac am I”

Here’s the simple way most people do it:

  1. Take your birth year (Gregorian year, like 1999, 2004, 2010).
  1. Match it to the 12-year cycle of animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep (Goat), Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.
  1. If you were born in January or early–mid February , you must check when Chinese New Year fell that year; if your birthday is before that New Year day, your sign is actually the previous year’s animal.

The twist is that the Chinese zodiac is based on the lunar calendar , so the “zodiac year” usually starts between January 21 and February 20, not on January 1.

Mini example (how it works)

Imagine someone born on:

  • 10 March 1998 → Chinese New Year 1998 was January 28, so that’s already in the Tiger year.
  • 10 January 1998 → Before Chinese New Year, so they’re still in the Ox year (the animal of 1997).

That’s why two people born in the same Gregorian year can have different Chinese zodiac signs if one is in early January and the other in March.

How you can check your exact sign

Because you haven’t given your birth date, I can’t say which sign you personally are, but here’s how to find it in seconds:

  • Use an online Chinese zodiac calculator where you enter your full birth date (and sometimes time), and it returns your zodiac animal.
  • Many calculators also show extra info like “element” (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) linked to your sign.

If you’d like, send me:

  • Your date of birth (day, month, year),
  • And whether you know your time of birth (optional),

and I’ll tell you which Chinese zodiac sign you are and what that sign is usually said to mean.