What Is My Chinese Zodiac Sign If I Was Born in January or February?
The Chinese zodiac does not start on January 1. If you were born in January or February, you may have the wrong sign. Here is how to find the right one.
The Quick Answer
The Chinese zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Each zodiac year starts on Chinese New Year, which falls on a different date every year, somewhere between January 21 and February 20.
If you were born before Chinese New Year in your birth year, your zodiac animal is the previous year's animal. If you were born on or after Chinese New Year, you belong to the current year's animal.
This means millions of people around the world have the wrong Chinese zodiac sign. Every online quiz that simply asks "what year were you born?" and maps it to an animal is giving inaccurate results for anyone born in January or the first three weeks of February.
Why the Chinese Zodiac Does Not Follow January 1
The Western calendar (Gregorian) is solar: it tracks the Earth's orbit around the sun and always starts on January 1. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar: it tracks both the moon's phases and the sun's position. Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, which is why the date shifts every year.
This distinction matters because the 12 zodiac animals are tied to the Chinese calendar, not the Western one. When you look up "1990 Chinese zodiac" and see "Horse," that is technically only accurate for people born after January 27, 1990 (the Chinese New Year date that year). Someone born on January 10, 1990 is actually a Snake, because they were born before the Horse year began.
The gap can be as much as seven weeks. Chinese New Year has fallen as early as January 21 (in 1966) and as late as February 20 (in 1985). That is a wide window of potential misidentification.
Real Examples That Catch People Off Guard
Chinese New Year Dates: 1960–2027
Use this table to check whether your birthday falls before or after Chinese New Year in your birth year. If your birthday is before the date shown, your zodiac animal is the previous year's animal.
| Year | Chinese New Year | Zodiac Animal |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Jan 28 | 🐀 Rat |
| 1961 | Feb 15 | 🐂 Ox |
| 1962 | Feb 5 | 🐅 Tiger |
| 1963 | Jan 25 | 🐇 Rabbit |
| 1964 | Feb 13 | 🐉 Dragon |
| 1965 | Feb 2 | 🐍 Snake |
| 1966 | Jan 21 | 🐎 Horse |
| 1967 | Feb 9 | 🐑 Sheep |
| 1968 | Jan 30 | 🐒 Monkey |
| 1969 | Feb 17 | 🐓 Rooster |
| 1970 | Feb 6 | 🐕 Dog |
| 1971 | Jan 27 | 🐖 Pig |
| 1972 | Feb 15 | 🐀 Rat |
| 1973 | Feb 3 | 🐂 Ox |
| 1974 | Jan 23 | 🐅 Tiger |
| 1975 | Feb 11 | 🐇 Rabbit |
| 1976 | Jan 31 | 🐉 Dragon |
| 1977 | Feb 18 | 🐍 Snake |
| 1978 | Feb 7 | 🐎 Horse |
| 1979 | Jan 28 | 🐑 Sheep |
| 1980 | Feb 16 | 🐒 Monkey |
| 1981 | Feb 5 | 🐓 Rooster |
| 1982 | Jan 25 | 🐕 Dog |
| 1983 | Feb 13 | 🐖 Pig |
| 1984 | Feb 2 | 🐀 Rat |
| 1985 | Feb 20 | 🐂 Ox |
| 1986 | Feb 9 | 🐅 Tiger |
| 1987 | Jan 29 | 🐇 Rabbit |
| 1988 | Feb 17 | 🐉 Dragon |
| 1989 | Feb 6 | 🐍 Snake |
| 1990 | Jan 27 | 🐎 Horse |
| 1991 | Feb 15 | 🐑 Sheep |
| 1992 | Feb 4 | 🐒 Monkey |
| 1993 | Jan 23 | 🐓 Rooster |
| 1994 | Feb 10 | 🐕 Dog |
| 1995 | Jan 31 | 🐖 Pig |
| 1996 | Feb 19 | 🐀 Rat |
| 1997 | Feb 7 | 🐂 Ox |
| 1998 | Jan 28 | 🐅 Tiger |
| 1999 | Feb 16 | 🐇 Rabbit |
| 2000 | Feb 5 | 🐉 Dragon |
| 2001 | Jan 24 | 🐍 Snake |
| 2002 | Feb 12 | 🐎 Horse |
| 2003 | Feb 1 | 🐑 Sheep |
| 2004 | Jan 22 | 🐒 Monkey |
| 2005 | Feb 9 | 🐓 Rooster |
| 2006 | Jan 29 | 🐕 Dog |
| 2007 | Feb 18 | 🐖 Pig |
| 2008 | Feb 7 | 🐀 Rat |
| 2009 | Jan 26 | 🐂 Ox |
| 2010 | Feb 14 | 🐅 Tiger |
| 2011 | Feb 3 | 🐇 Rabbit |
| 2012 | Jan 23 | 🐉 Dragon |
| 2013 | Feb 10 | 🐍 Snake |
| 2014 | Jan 31 | 🐎 Horse |
| 2015 | Feb 19 | 🐑 Sheep |
| 2016 | Feb 8 | 🐒 Monkey |
| 2017 | Jan 28 | 🐓 Rooster |
| 2018 | Feb 16 | 🐕 Dog |
| 2019 | Feb 5 | 🐖 Pig |
| 2020 | Jan 25 | 🐀 Rat |
| 2021 | Feb 12 | 🐂 Ox |
| 2022 | Feb 1 | 🐅 Tiger |
| 2023 | Jan 22 | 🐇 Rabbit |
| 2024 | Feb 10 | 🐉 Dragon |
| 2025 | Jan 29 | 🐍 Snake |
| 2026 | Feb 17 | 🐎 Horse |
| 2027 | Feb 6 | 🐑 Sheep |
Not Sure? Use the Calculator
The easiest way to confirm your zodiac animal is to enter your full birth date (year, month, and day) into our calculator. It automatically accounts for the Chinese New Year boundary.
The basic calculator gives you your birth year animal. The BaZi calculator goes deeper, revealing four zodiac animals based on your year, month, day, and hour of birth. Learn more about BaZi →