Your Chinese sign depends on your year of birth, but the Chinese year does not start on 1 January: it starts in early February. If you were born in January or at the very start of February, your sign is that of the previous year.
This calculator starts the year at the beginning of the Chinese spring (lichun, around 4 February), the rule used for birth charts. Some sites use Chinese New Year, which falls between late January and mid-February: for a few people born between those two dates, the animal differs.
Your Chinese element
The element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) changes every two years. With the 12 animals it forms a 60-year cycle: a Wood Rabbit and a Fire Rabbit are not quite alike.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my sign not the one of my birth year?
Because the Chinese year starts in early February, not on 1 January. Born in January, you have the sign of the previous year.
What is the Chinese sign of 2027?
The Fire Goat. The year starts on 4 February 2027 under the birth-chart rule; Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027.
Is the Chinese sign enough to describe someone?
No. It comes from the year alone. A full birth chart also reads the month, day and hour: that is what the SOLO portrait does.