Chinese Zodiac Elements
Every Chinese year has an animal and an element. Enter your birth date to find yours, or use the last digit of your birth year: 0 and 1 Metal, 2 and 3 Water, 4 and 5 Wood, 6 and 7 Fire, 8 and 9 Earth.
Find Your Element
Enter your birth date, down to the exact Lunar New Year.
Month and day are optional. Add them if you were born in January or February. See January and February Chinese zodiac.
Find Your Element by Birth Year
The last digit of the Chinese year sets the element, two digits for each. Pick your element to see its years and the twelve signs.
The 60-Year Chinese Zodiac Cycle
Twelve animals and five elements make 60 combinations. Each row is one element, each column one animal, and the years are the years of that combination from 1900. Select a combination for its personality and dates.
Born in January or early February? Check the exact Lunar New Year date with the calculator above, because the Chinese year starts then, not on January 1.
How the Five Elements Relate
Tradition describes two cycles. In the generating cycle each element feeds the next. In the controlling cycle each element holds another in check.
Feeding (Generating)
- Wood feeds Fire
- Fire feeds Earth
- Earth feeds Metal
- Metal feeds Water
- Water feeds Wood
Controlling
- Wood controls Earth
- Fire controls Metal
- Earth controls Water
- Metal controls Wood
- Water controls Fire
Some readers use the cycles to read compatibility, taking feeding as supportive and controlling as a test of balance. This site scores compatibility from the animal rules and treats the elements as extra color.
The Element of Your Year and the Element of Your Animal
Two different things share the name. The year element follows the last digit of the birth year, so 1998 was an Earth year and made an Earth Tiger. The animal's own element never changes: the Tiger is always Wood.
See each animal on the 12 Chinese zodiac signs page.
| Animal's own element | Animals |
|---|---|
| Wood | Tiger and Rabbit |
| Fire | Snake and Horse |
| Earth | Ox, Dragon, Goat and Dog |
| Metal | Monkey and Rooster |
| Water | Rat and Pig |
Chinese Zodiac Elements FAQ
What is my Chinese zodiac element?
It follows the last digit of your birth year: 0 and 1 Metal, 2 and 3 Water, 4 and 5 Wood, 6 and 7 Fire, 8 and 9 Earth. If you were born in January or February, check the Lunar New Year date first, because you may belong to the year before. The calculator at the top of the page does both.
What are the five Chinese zodiac elements?
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Metal is also called Gold. Together with the 12 animals they make a 60-year cycle, so each combination such as the Fire Horse returns every 60 years.
What is the difference between my element and my animal?
The animal is the sign of the year, repeating every 12 years. The element is a second label that follows the last digit of the year. Together they give names like Earth Tiger or Water Rabbit.
Does each animal have its own element too?
Yes. Each animal has a fixed element that never changes: Tiger and Rabbit are Wood, Snake and Horse are Fire, Ox, Dragon, Goat and Dog are Earth, Monkey and Rooster are Metal, and Rat and Pig are Water. This is different from the element of the birth year.
How many element and animal combinations are there?
Sixty: each of the 12 animals pairs with each of the 5 elements. A combination comes round once every 60 years, so 1990 was a Metal Horse and the next Metal Horse year is 2050.
What do the generating and controlling cycles mean?
In the generating cycle each element feeds the next: Wood feeds Fire, Fire feeds Earth, Earth feeds Metal, Metal feeds Water and Water feeds Wood. In the controlling cycle each element holds another in check: Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal and Metal controls Wood.
Do elements affect Chinese zodiac compatibility?
Some readers also look at the elements, and tradition reads feeding as supportive and controlling as a test of balance. This site scores compatibility from the animal rules only and treats elements as extra color.
Keep Exploring the Chinese Zodiac
- Chinese zodiac calculatorFind your sign from your birth date.
- Chinese zodiac signsThe 12 animals, their order and meanings.
- Chinese zodiac yearsEvery year from 1900 to 2035, with dates.
- Chinese zodiac years chart PDFPrintable A4 chart, 1900 to 2035.
- Chinese zodiac compatibilityHow any two signs match.
- Chinese zodiac enemy signsYour enemy sign and enemy years.
- 2027 Chinese zodiacThe Year of the Fire Goat for all 12 signs.
- Chinese New Year 2027The date, the 15 days and the greetings.
- Chinese zodiac blogLunar age, January births and more.