Animal 04 · twelve-year cycle

Year of the
Rabbit

Year of the Rabbit runs from Chinese New Year to the day before the next, not 1 January to 31 December. See every exact Rabbit year from 1900 to 2035 with its element.

Calendar and tradition: The Chinese New Year boundary is a calendar result. Personality, compatibility, career, and lucky-item material below are traditional interpretations, not scientific findings or predictions.

Immediate answer

The Rabbit is #4 in the cycle

Most recent complete Rabbit year: Water Rabbit 202322 January 2023 to 9 February 2024
Cycle length: Every 12 yearsThe element repeats every 60 years
Traditional colors: Red · Pink · Purple · Blue
Exact lookup: Use the maintained date calculatorCoverage: 1900–2035 birth dates

Calendar fact

Every Rabbit year and its exact dates

A Chinese zodiac year is not a Gregorian year. Each Rabbit year opens on that year's Chinese New Year and closes the day before the next one, so it always straddles two Gregorian years. Every row below is derived from the maintained Chinese New Year boundary table rather than estimated, which is why the start and end dates move each cycle.

Rabbit years from 1900 to 2035, with the element and yin or yang quality of each.
Zodiac year	Element & quality	First day	Last day
2035	Wood RabbitYin	8 Feb 2035	Beyond the maintained table
2023	Water RabbitYin	22 Jan 2023	9 Feb 2024
2011	Metal RabbitYin	3 Feb 2011	22 Jan 2012
1999	Earth RabbitYin	16 Feb 1999	4 Feb 2000
1987	Fire RabbitYin	29 Jan 1987	16 Feb 1988
1975	Wood RabbitYin	11 Feb 1975	30 Jan 1976
1963	Water RabbitYin	25 Jan 1963	12 Feb 1964
1951	Metal RabbitYin	6 Feb 1951	26 Jan 1952
1939	Earth RabbitYin	19 Feb 1939	7 Feb 1940
1927	Fire RabbitYin	2 Feb 1927	22 Jan 1928
1915	Wood RabbitYin	14 Feb 1915	2 Feb 1916
1903	Water RabbitYin	29 Jan 1903	15 Feb 1904

Why this matters: someone born in early 2024, before that year's Chinese New Year, is still a Rabbit rather than the following animal. A Gregorian birth year on its own gives the wrong answer for roughly the first five to seven weeks of every year. The calculator checks the boundary for you.

Traditional profile

How tradition describes the Rabbit

The Rabbit represents gentleness, elegance, and good fortune. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are thoughtful, articulate, and compassionate. They appreciate beauty and prefer a peaceful environment.

GentleQuietElegantAlertResponsible

Traditional strengths

Common themes

Gentle · Compassionate · Amiable · Sensitive · Modest

Traditional challenges

Common cautions

Timid · Conservative · Superficial · Melancholic · Stubborn about trivials

Traditional interpretation

Compatibility themes

This simplified animal-sign tradition is not a relationship assessment. Chinese astrology can also consider elements and other factors.

Commonly described as strongest

Goat · Monkey · Dog · Pig

Commonly described as favorable

Rat · Tiger · Snake · Rabbit

Commonly described as challenging

Ox · Dragon · Horse · Rooster

Traditional associations

Numbers, colors, flowers, and directions

Traditional numbers: 3 · 4 · 6
Traditional colors: Red · Pink · Purple · Blue
Traditional flowers: Plantain lily · Jasmine
Traditional directions: East · South · Northwest

Interpretation label: “Lucky” and “unlucky” lists are traditional correspondences. They do not alter probability or predict an outcome.

Traditional interpretation

Career themes in animal-sign guides

Traditional profiles often associate the Rabbit with these fields. Career fit depends on the individual, not their zodiac animal.

CounselorDoctorDesignerWriterTeacher

Boundary note: People born before Chinese New Year belong to the preceding animal year. Use a complete date, not the Gregorian year alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which years are Year of the Rabbit?▼

Rabbit years repeat every 12 years: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035. Each one begins at Chinese New Year rather than 1 January, so the 2023 Rabbit year ran from 22 January 2023 to 9 February 2024.

Why can a January or February birthday have the previous animal?▼

Chinese New Year falls between 21 January and 21 February depending on the year, because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar. A birthday before that year's boundary belongs to the preceding zodiac year, so a Gregorian birth year alone is unreliable for anyone born in the first weeks of a year.

What element is the Rabbit?▼

The animal repeats every 12 years while the five elements repeat every 10, so a full animal-and-element combination returns only every 60 years. The most recent complete Rabbit year was a Water Rabbit (Yin).

Are Year of the Rabbit personality readings scientific?▼

No. Animal traits, compatibility, lucky items, and career themes are cultural or astrological interpretations, not scientific measurements or predictions.