Chinese Zodiac (Eto) Lookup
Enter a birth year to instantly find its Chinese zodiac animal — Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog or Boar. Handy for New Year cards or age-guessing quizzes.
The 12 zodiac animals and their most recent years
| Order | Zodiac animal | Most recent year | Next occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rat (子, ne) | 2020 | 2032 |
| 2 | Ox (丑, ushi) | 2021 | 2033 |
| 3 | Tiger (寅, tora) | 2022 | 2034 |
| 4 | Rabbit (卯, u) | 2023 | 2035 |
| 5 | Dragon (辰, tatsu) | 2024 | 2036 |
| 6 | Snake (巳, mi) | 2025 | 2037 |
| 7 | Horse (午, uma) | 2026 This Year | 2038 |
| 8 | Goat (未, hitsuji) | 2015 | 2027 |
| 9 | Monkey (申, saru) | 2016 | 2028 |
| 10 | Rooster (酉, tori) | 2017 | 2029 |
| 11 | Dog (戌, inu) | 2018 | 2030 |
| 12 | Boar (亥, i) | 2019 | 2031 |
What is the Chinese zodiac (eto)?
The Chinese zodiac (干支, eto) assigns one of 12 animals — Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar — to each year in turn. Because the cycle repeats every 12 years, the animal tied to your birth year comes around again every 12 years. Just enter your birth year below to see its zodiac animal instantly.
Strictly speaking, "eto" refers to the full 60-year cycle formed by combining the 10 celestial stems (十干, jikkan) with the 12 zodiac animals, known as the sexagenary cycle (十干十二支). Kanreki (還暦), the celebration of turning 60, marks the point where this 60-combination cycle loops back to the same pairing as your birth year. In everyday conversation, though, asking "what's this year's zodiac animal?" almost always means just the 12 animals.
How to look up a Chinese zodiac animal
- Enter a birth year Type the year in the Western (solar) calendar to see the zodiac animal assigned to it.
- Check this year's or next year's animal Enter the year you're curious about — the current year or next year work exactly the same way.
- Browse nearby years in the table The reference table lists the most recent and next occurrence for each of the 12 animals, handy for spotting every year that shares your sign.
Tips for getting more out of it
- The zodiac cycle repeats every 12 years, so adding or subtracting 12 from a birth year instantly tells you other years that share the same animal.
- If you're stuck choosing a New Year card design, check next year's zodiac animal first, then search for illustrations of that animal.
- It's a great conversation starter — asking "what year (animal) were you born in?" is a common icebreaker in East Asian culture.
- The 12 zodiac signs were historically also used to name hours and directions (like the "Hour of the Ox"), so they're tied to more than just the calendar.
When people look up their zodiac animal
Choosing New Year card designs
Checking next year's animal before browsing illustrations makes shopping for New Year card artwork much faster — the most common reason people use this tool.
Icebreakers and small talk
Asking "what year (animal) were you born in?" is a way to hint at someone's age without asking directly, and you can often guess a birth year from the animal alone.
Filling out forms or shrine applications
Purification rituals, prayer request forms, and family tree records sometimes ask for your birth year's zodiac animal.
Reading historical year names
Events like the Jinshin War, the Boshin War, or the Xinhai Revolution are named using the sexagenary cycle — recognizing the pattern helps you place them in time.
Chinese zodiac terms
- the 12 zodiac animals (十二支, junishi)
- Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar. Assigned to years, months, days, hours and directions, completing a full cycle every 12 years.
- the 10 celestial stems (十干, jikkan)
- A set of 10 signs combined with the 12 zodiac animals to form the 60-step sexagenary cycle.
- kanreki (還暦)
- The moment the 60-combination sexagenary cycle completes and loops back to match your birth year's pairing — traditionally celebrated at the 61st year by Japanese age-counting, or age 60 in the Western count.
- the witching hour (丑三つ時, ushi-mitsu-doki)
- A time name built from the zodiac hour of the Ox, referring to the third of four sub-periods within that hour — roughly 2:00 to 2:30 a.m.
Frequently asked questions
Side Note — the origin of the 12 zodiac animals
The 12 zodiac signs are believed to originate from an ancient Chinese astronomical numbering system tied to Jupiter's roughly 12-year orbit around the celestial sphere, with 12 symbols assigned to track its position year by year. The system reached Japan around the 6th century and was later paired with animals, becoming widely beloved folk knowledge.
Many legends explain the order of the animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, boar). A famous folk tale says the gods invited all animals to greet them on New Year's morning; the slow ox set off early, but the rat riding on its back leapt off first and crossed the finish line ahead — explaining why the rat comes first and the ox second.
The 12 signs were assigned not only to years but also to months, days, hours and directions. Until the Edo period, hours were expressed using zodiac terms (like the eerie "third quarter of the Ox hour," around 2 a.m.), and directions such as northeast (associated with the "ox-tiger" gate) were described the same way — the system was woven into nearly every part of daily life.