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Chinese zodiac by year

It is not just the animal: every year pairs one of the 12 signs with one of five elements, in a cycle that only repeats every 60 years. Find yours and see the full table from 1924 to 2043.

Years 1924 to 2043, sign and element

The race of the 12 animals and the 60 year cycle

Legend says the Jade Emperor called a race to choose the guardians of the calendar, and the order of arrival set the sequence of the 12 signs. The clever Rat hitched a ride on the Ox and jumped ahead at the finish line, which is why it opens the cycle; the Pig, who stopped to eat and nap, arrived last. The cat was left out because the Rat never woke it up, and tradition says that is why cats and rats are enemies to this day.

The Chinese zodiac is not only about 12 years. Each animal pairs with one of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water), and each element covers two consecutive years, forming a grand cycle of 60 years (12 animals times 5 elements). That is why 1924, 1984 and 2044 are all Wood Rat years: the sexagenary cycle closes and starts over. A person only meets the exact combination of their birth again at age 60, a milestone celebrated across East Asia.

And there is a cultural detail that runs through all of China: the number 4 is avoided because the word for "four" (si) sounds almost identical to the word for "death". Many buildings skip the 4th, 14th and 24th floors, phone numbers and plates dodge the digit, and gifts in groups of four are in poor taste. The number 8, by contrast, sounds like "to prosper" and is the lucky one. Source: the convention of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, in which the turn of the year follows the second new moon after the winter solstice, between January 21 and February 20.

Last updated: 2026-07-10 · Methodology and sources