Free tool

Chinese Zodiac Sign Calculator

Enter your birth date to find your Chinese zodiac animal. Unlike a simple year lookup, this checks the Chinese New Year boundary — so January and February birthdays are calculated correctly.

Your Chinese zodiac sign is Horse.

You were born after Chinese New Year (2026-02-17), so your animal sign belongs to the lunar year 2026.

Zodiac animal: Horse
Element (year stem): Fire
Ganzhi year: 丙午
Lunar year: 2026
Chinese New Year: 2026-02-17

Why your birth month matters

The Chinese zodiac follows the lunar year, which begins at Chinese New Year (late January or February) — not on 1 January. If you were born in January or early February, the new lunar year may not have started yet, so your zodiac animal is the one from the previous year. That’s why a simple “year ÷ 12” table gets these birthdays wrong. MoonCal uses the Chinese New Year boundary, the most common convention. (Some BaZi systems instead switch at Lìchūn / Start of Spring — we don’t use that here.)

Chinese zodiac FAQ

What is my Chinese zodiac sign?: Your Chinese zodiac sign is the animal of the lunar year you were born in — one of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog or Pig. Enter your birth date above to find it.
Is the Chinese zodiac based on my birthday or my birth year?: It is based on the lunar year, which usually matches your Gregorian birth year — except for births in January or early February, before Chinese New Year, which belong to the previous year’s animal.
What if I was born in January or February?: Then you need to check whether you were born before or after Chinese New Year that year. This calculator does that for you and tells you which lunar year your sign comes from.
Is the Chinese zodiac the same as my (Western) zodiac sign?: No. Western zodiac signs (Aries, Leo, etc.) are based on the month and day of birth, while the Chinese zodiac is an animal based on the lunar year. See our Chinese zodiac vs zodiac sign guide.

Never miss your lunar birthday

Your lunar birthday lands on a different Gregorian date every year. Add it to MoonCal once and subscribe in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook — the date updates itself every year.

Add my lunar birthday to calendar

Why your birth month matters

Chinese zodiac FAQ

What is my Chinese zodiac sign?

Your Chinese zodiac sign is the animal of the lunar year you were born in — one of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog or Pig. Enter your birth date above to find it.

Is the Chinese zodiac based on my birthday or my birth year?

It is based on the lunar year, which usually matches your Gregorian birth year — except for births in January or early February, before Chinese New Year, which belong to the previous year’s animal.

What if I was born in January or February?

Then you need to check whether you were born before or after Chinese New Year that year. This calculator does that for you and tells you which lunar year your sign comes from.

Is the Chinese zodiac the same as my (Western) zodiac sign?

No. Western zodiac signs (Aries, Leo, etc.) are based on the month and day of birth, while the Chinese zodiac is an animal based on the lunar year. See our Chinese zodiac vs zodiac sign guide.