What's your Chinese zodiac animal?
Enter a date of birth. The zodiac follows the lunar new year, which lands somewhere between 21 January and 20 February — so if you were born in January or early February, online quizzes usually get you wrong.
Chinese zodiac compatibility: which signs get along
Four overlapping systems decide this. Two animals can be a perfect match in one and unremarkable in another — which is why a single "compatibility score" is always someone's invention.
六合 · The six secret friends
One-to-one pairs whose energies are said to complete each other. Each animal has exactly one.
Rat's quickness covers Ox's caution; Ox's steadiness anchors Rat's restlessness. The pair that quietly divides labour and stops arguing about it.
Tiger charges out into the world; Pig builds something warm to come back to. What Tiger needs isn't another Tiger — it's somewhere safe to land.
Rabbit softens Dog's rigidity, and Dog's plain loyalty is what makes Rabbit feel safe. Often described as the most durable of the six, especially in friendships.
Dragon works at the scale of the whole plan; Rooster handles quality control and catches what was missed. Vision plus follow-through.
Two strategists who never quite manage to underestimate each other. Mutual respect for the other's mind — and no tolerance for games.
Horse supplies the motion; Goat supplies the reason it was worth moving. Goat is also the only one who can make Horse slow down without a fight.
三合 · The four trines
Three animals sharing an element. Any two inside the same trine are considered to read each other's intentions unusually well.
The strategists. One generates ideas, one scales them, one actually delivers them. Restless in the best way.
The finishers. Slow to start, precise once moving, and quietly disdainful of people who don't complete things.
The activists. High output, quick decisions, and a shared need for room — put all three in one team and give them somewhere to go.
The peacemakers. Artistic, agreeable, conflict-averse — so much so that difficult conversations can get postponed for years.
六冲 · The six clashes
Animals sitting exactly opposite each other on the zodiac ring — six years apart. Opposing temperament rather than bad character.
Plans against impulse. Excellent at executing once pointed the same direction; slow to agree on which direction.
Both stubborn, expressed differently — Ox digs in visibly, Goat simply refuses and outlasts you.
The most electric of the six clashes and the most competitive. Two people convinced they should be leading.
Indirect meets blunt. One reads it as avoiding the subject; the other reads it as tact. Neither is actually angry yet.
Both certain they are right, and frequently both right about different halves of the problem. Arguments about principle, not facts.
Privacy against candour. Snake reads the room; Pig walks straight into the middle of it. Requires agreeing what stays private.
The full compatibility matrix
Every one of the 66 combinations. Find yours on the left, theirs along the top.
| 鼠 | 牛 | 虎 | 兔 | 龙 | 蛇 | 马 | 羊 | 猴 | 鸡 | 狗 | 猪 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鼠Rat | 同 | 合 | · | 刑 | 三 | · | 冲 | 害 | 三 | · | · | · |
| 牛Ox | 合 | 同 | · | · | · | 三 | 害 | 冲 | · | 三 | 刑 | · |
| 虎Tiger | · | · | 同 | · | · | 害 | 三 | · | 冲 | · | 三 | 合 |
| 兔Rabbit | 刑 | · | · | 同 | 害 | · | · | 三 | · | 冲 | 合 | 三 |
| 龙Dragon | 三 | · | · | 害 | 同 | · | · | · | 三 | 合 | 冲 | · |
| 蛇Snake | · | 三 | 害 | · | · | 同 | · | · | 合 | 三 | · | 冲 |
| 马Horse | 冲 | 害 | 三 | · | · | · | 同 | 合 | · | · | 三 | · |
| 羊Goat | 害 | 冲 | · | 三 | · | · | 合 | 同 | · | · | 刑 | 三 |
| 猴Monkey | 三 | · | 冲 | · | 三 | 合 | · | · | 同 | · | · | 害 |
| 鸡Rooster | · | 三 | · | 冲 | 合 | 三 | · | · | · | 同 | 害 | · |
| 狗Dog | · | 刑 | 三 | 合 | 冲 | · | 三 | 刑 | · | 害 | 同 | · |
| 猪Pig | · | · | 合 | 三 | · | 冲 | · | 三 | 害 | · | · | 同 |
Check a specific pair
Two dates of birth. Both animals are worked out from the lunar new year, so January and February birthdays are handled correctly.
Chinese zodiac years at a glance
Every animal, with the exact window it covers. Anything before 1 January in these ranges belongs to the previous animal.
| Animal | Recent years (from Chinese New Year) | |
|---|---|---|
| 鼠 | Rat | 2020 · 2008 · 1996 |
| 牛 | Ox | 2021 · 2009 · 1997 |
| 虎 | Tiger | 2022 · 2010 · 1998 |
| 兔 | Rabbit | 2023 · 2011 · 1999 |
| 龙 | Dragon | 2024 · 2012 · 2000 |
| 蛇 | Snake | 2025 · 2013 · 2001 |
| 马 | Horse | 2026 · 2014 · 2002 |
| 羊 | Goat | 2027 · 2015 · 2003 |
| 猴 | Monkey | 2028 · 2016 · 2004 |
| 鸡 | Rooster | 2029 · 2017 · 2005 |
| 狗 | Dog | 2030 · 2018 · 2006 |
| 猪 | Pig | 2031 · 2019 · 2007 |