Enter both birth years above to see the result.
For entertainment and reflection only. Chinese astrology is a cultural tradition, not a science, and this result is not a prediction or relationship advice.
How Chinese zodiac compatibility works
The Chinese zodiac (shengxiao) gives each year one of twelve animals in a fixed order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The animals are the popular face of the twelve Earthly Branches, an ancient counting system used in the traditional Chinese calendar for years, months, days and hours. Ideas about which animals get along belong to the same tradition, and many families still bring them up, half seriously, when a couple gets together. Unlike Western astrology, your animal depends on your birth year, not your birthday.
How the calculator finds each animal
It counts from a known Rat year. 1900 was a Rat year, so the calculator works out how many years your birth year is past 1900 and divides by 12; the remainder picks the animal. For 1990, that is 1990 − 1900 = 90, and 90 divided by 12 leaves a remainder of 6. Counting Rat as 0, position 6 is the Horse. The same arithmetic gives Dog for 1994 and Rat for 1996. Years before 1900 aren't accepted.
The relationship types it checks
Traditional compatibility is based on where the two animals sit around the twelve-year circle. The calculator tests the pair against these categories in order and shows the first one that applies:
- Same Sign (70%): both people share an animal, for example two people born 12 years apart.
- Three Harmonies, San He (95%): three animals spaced four years apart form a harmonious trine. The four trines are Rat, Dragon and Monkey; Ox, Snake and Rooster; Tiger, Horse and Dog; and Rabbit, Goat and Pig.
- Six Harmonies, Liu He (90%): six fixed pairs regarded as natural allies: Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, and Horse and Goat.
- Six Clashes, Liu Chong (25%): the six pairs that sit directly opposite each other, six years apart: Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, and Snake and Pig. Traditionally the most difficult match.
- Neutral (50% to 65%): every other combination. The tradition doesn't rank these, and the exact number inside that band comes from a simple formula in the calculator, so a few points either way mean nothing.
The percentages are the calculator's shorthand for this ordering. Chinese astrology describes these relationships in words, not scores.
Worked examples
- 1990 and 1994: Horse and Dog. Both belong to the Tiger, Horse and Dog trine, so the result is Three Harmonies at 95%.
- 1988 and 1993: Dragon and Rooster, one of the Six Harmony pairs, at 90%.
- 1990 and 1996: Horse and Rat sit opposite each other on the circle, a Six Clash, at 25%.
- 1990 and 2002: both are Horse years, so the result is Same Sign at 70%.
The lunar new year catch
The Chinese zodiac year doesn't start on January 1. It begins at Chinese New Year, which falls on a new moon between January 21 and February 20 (Chinese New Year). This calculator uses the calendar year you type, so if you were born in January or early February, check the new year date for your birth year. For example, the Year of the Goat begins on February 6, 2027 (China Highlights), so a baby born on January 20, 2027 is traditionally a Horse, the animal of 2026, even though entering 2027 here returns Goat. If that applies to you, enter the previous year instead.
What a full reading would add
Traditional Chinese astrology goes well beyond the year animal. A Four Pillars (BaZi) reading also uses the month, day and hour of birth, and each year pairs its animal with one of five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water), so 1990 is specifically a Metal Horse year. Practitioners also recognize other difficult relationships, such as the Six Harms and the Three Punishments, which this calculator doesn't include. The year-animal comparison here is the simplified, popular version most people know.
Common misconceptions
- "A clash means the relationship is doomed." Even within the tradition, a clash is friction to be managed, and the year animal is only one factor among many.
- "My animal is set by my birthday, like a Western sign." It's set by the lunar year, which is why January and February birthdays need care.
- "Chinese and Western signs should agree." They are separate systems with different inputs. See the Zodiac Compatibility Checker for the Western element approach.
As with every tool in this category, the result is a piece of cultural tradition to enjoy and talk about, not a forecast.
Frequently asked questions
Enter your birth year and the calculator maps it to one of the twelve animal signs using the standard 12-year cycle (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig), anchored so that 1900 is a Rat year.
Three Harmonies (San He) groups three signs, spaced four years apart, that are traditionally considered highly compatible, such as Tiger, Horse and Dog. Six Harmony (Liu He) pairs two specific signs that are traditionally viewed as natural allies, such as Rat and Ox. Both are classical categories in Chinese astrology, not scientific findings.
Six Clash (Liu Chong) pairs are the two signs sitting exactly opposite each other in the 12-year cycle, six positions apart. Traditionally these pairings are considered the most challenging, though this reflects folk astrology rather than any measurable outcome.
Not precisely. Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20, so people born in January or early February may belong to the previous year's animal. This calculator uses the calendar year you enter, so if your birthday falls before that year's new year, enter the previous year.
Tradition doesn't rank neutral pairs, so the calculator gives them a score between 50% and 65% using a simple formula. Treat any neutral result as the same middle category, whatever the exact number.