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Year of the Snake

Chinese zodiac sign 6 of 12 ยท said to be wise, intuitive, calm

Years of the Snake

YearElementDates
2025 Wood Jan 29, 2025 โ€“ Feb 16, 2026
2013 Water Feb 10, 2013 โ€“ Jan 30, 2014
2001 Metal Jan 24, 2001 โ€“ Feb 11, 2002
1989 Earth Feb 6, 1989 โ€“ Jan 26, 1990
1977 Fire Feb 18, 1977 โ€“ Feb 6, 1978
1965 Wood Feb 2, 1965 โ€“ Jan 20, 1966
1953 Water Feb 14, 1953 โ€“ Feb 3, 1954
1941 Metal Jan 27, 1941 โ€“ Feb 14, 1942
1929 Earth Feb 10, 1929 โ€“ Jan 29, 1930

Snake compatibility

Best matches (same trine)

๐Ÿ“ Rooster ๐Ÿ‚ Ox

Secret friend

๐Ÿ’ Monkey

Clashes with

๐Ÿ– Pig

Traditional Chinese astrology, for fun.

Born in January or February?

Each Snake year starts at Lunar New Year, between January 21 and February 20. If you were born earlier in the year, you belong to the animal before โ€” check your full birth date:

Other animals

About the Chinese Zodiac

Chinese Zodiac tells you your animal sign and element from your birth year โ€” and gets it right for January and February birthdays, which most charts miss. The Chinese zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, between January 21 and February 20, so someone born before it belongs to the previous yearโ€™s animal. Every year from 1924 to 2035 has a page with its exact start and end dates, its element and yin or yang, and every animal has a page listing its years and its best and worst matches.

How to use it

  1. 1 Enter your birth year, and the month and day if you were born in January or February.
  2. 2 See your animal, element and yin or yang.
  3. 3 Open your year to see when it started and ended.
  4. 4 Check the animals you match and clash with.

Frequently asked questions

What years are the year of the Snake?

Recent years of the Snake are 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025. Each starts at Lunar New Year (late January or February), not on January 1.

When is the next year of the Snake?

The Snake comes round every 12 years.

Who is the Snake compatible with?

Traditionally the Rooster and the Ox (the same trine) and the Monkey (its โ€œsecret friendโ€). The Pig, six signs away, is the classic clash.

What are the 12 Chinese zodiac animals in order?

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The cycle repeats every 12 years, and each year also has one of five elements โ€” Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water โ€” giving a full cycle of 60 years.

What is the Chinese zodiac for 2026?

2026 is the year of the Fire Horse. It starts at Lunar New Year on February 17, 2026 and runs until February 5, 2027, when the year of the Fire Goat begins.

Why is my Chinese zodiac different from my birth year?

Because the Chinese zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year, not on January 1. If you were born in January or early February before that yearโ€™s Lunar New Year, your animal is the one for the year before. Enter your full birth date to check.

Where do the Lunar New Year dates come from?

They are worked out from the Chinese lunisolar calendar (the same calculation used by the Unicode ICU calendar library), which places Lunar New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice in Chinese time.