Chinese Zodiac Calculator – Find Your Animal Sign, Element & Compatibility

The Chinese zodiac is a repeating 12‑year cycle, with each year represented by an animal sign: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Your sign is determined by your birth year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Each sign is also associated with one of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and a Yin or Yang polarity, creating a richer 60‑year cycle.

The Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) marks the start of a new zodiac year, and it usually falls between 21 January and 20 February. If you were born before that date, you belong to the previous year’s animal. Our calculator uses accurate Chinese New Year dates from 1900 to 2100 to give you the correct sign. You can also toggle the “Ignore Chinese New Year” option to see what your sign would be under a strict 1 January cutoff.

Each year is governed by a Heavenly Stem, which brings an element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and a Yin or Yang quality. For example, a “Yang Fire Rat” is a Rat born in a Fire year with Yang energy. The element is said to influence your personality and fortune alongside the animal sign.

The stem‑branch name combines the Heavenly Stem (e.g. Bing) with the Earthly Branch (e.g. Rat) to form the full 60‑cycle designation. It’s the traditional way to identify a year in Chinese astrology and is used in fortune‑telling and almanacs.

The compatibility scores are based on traditional principles: trine groups (like Rat‑Dragon‑Monkey) are considered the most harmonious; six harmonies represent ideal partnerships; and opposite signs are the most challenging. These are cultural interpretations and should be taken as fun insights, not hard science.

The tool covers all birth dates from 1 January 1900 through 31 December 2100. The Chinese New Year dates for this entire range are hard‑coded, so the lunar offset is exact. If you enter a year outside this range, you’ll see a friendly error message.

Yes, simply enter their birth date (or just their birth year) in the input field. The tool runs entirely on your device and does not save any data — it’s completely private.

No. All calculations happen instantly in your browser using JavaScript. No data is transmitted over the internet, stored on a server, or saved locally. You can use it offline once the page is loaded.

No. The Western zodiac is based on constellations and the solar year, dividing the sky into 12 signs by month. The Chinese zodiac uses a 12‑year animal cycle tied to the lunar calendar. They are completely separate systems.

The underlying formula (year - 4) mod 12 works for any year, but the Chinese New Year offset requires historical/future lunar data that we don’t include beyond 2100. For dates outside the supported range, use the “Year Only” mode with the “Ignore Chinese New Year” checkbox to get a solar‑based result.