Chinese zodiac by date
The zodiac animal follows the Chinese lunar year, not always January 1. Convert the date first, then read the lunar year animal.
Quick answer: Enter a Gregorian date in the lunar converter to get the lunar year and zodiac animal for that date.
01 /Examples and fit notes
January birthdays
A January date can belong to the previous Chinese zodiac year if Lunar New Year has not happened yet.
Research
Use the lunar result before assigning an animal.
Important note
The Chinese zodiac year boundary changes each year.
Note 2
Do not use January 1 as the zodiac boundary.
02 /How to use this lookup
This page targets one Chinese calendar search phrase. Use the main calendar converter for the actual date calculation, especially when leap lunar months or date-of-birth lookups are involved.
Chinese lunar conversion is date-specific and range-limited. Check the Gregorian date, lunar month, leap-month flag and weekday before using the result in a booking, form or family record.
03 /Calendar conversion context
Chinese lunar date conversion is not a simple month-name translation. The calendar is lunisolar, some years contain leap lunar months, and zodiac-year lookup depends on the Chinese New Year boundary rather than January 1.
The main converter supports practical modern lookups from 1900 to 2100. It is designed for birthdays, family notes, festival checks and cultural calendar lookup, not for ancient historical chronology or legal evidence.
For the full checklist, read the Chinese lunar calendar conversion limits guide. It explains leap-month status, supported range, zodiac boundaries and when a specialist calendar reference is safer.