Animal 10 · twelve-year cycle

Year of the
Rooster

Year of the Rooster runs from Chinese New Year to the day before the next, not 1 January to 31 December. See every exact Rooster 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 Rooster is #10 in the cycle

Most recent complete Rooster year: Earth Rooster 202913 February 2029 to 2 February 2030
Cycle length: Every 12 yearsThe element repeats every 60 years
Traditional colors: Gold · Brown · Yellow
Exact lookup: Use the maintained date calculatorCoverage: 1900–2035 birth dates

Calendar fact

Every Rooster year and its exact dates

A Chinese zodiac year is not a Gregorian year. Each Rooster 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.

Rooster years from 1900 to 2035, with the element and yin or yang quality of each.
Zodiac year	Element & quality	First day	Last day
2029	Earth RoosterYin	13 Feb 2029	2 Feb 2030
2017	Fire RoosterYin	28 Jan 2017	15 Feb 2018
2005	Wood RoosterYin	9 Feb 2005	28 Jan 2006
1993	Water RoosterYin	23 Jan 1993	9 Feb 1994
1981	Metal RoosterYin	5 Feb 1981	24 Jan 1982
1969	Earth RoosterYin	17 Feb 1969	5 Feb 1970
1957	Fire RoosterYin	31 Jan 1957	17 Feb 1958
1945	Wood RoosterYin	13 Feb 1945	1 Feb 1946
1933	Water RoosterYin	26 Jan 1933	13 Feb 1934
1921	Metal RoosterYin	8 Feb 1921	27 Jan 1922
1909	Earth RoosterYin	22 Jan 1909	9 Feb 1910

Why this matters: someone born in early 2030, before that year's Chinese New Year, is still a Rooster 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 Rooster

The Rooster represents confidence, ambition, and a strong work ethic. People born in the Year of the Rooster are observant and hardworking, with excellent attention to detail. They're often the first to spot opportunities and problems.

ObservantHardworkingResourcefulCourageousTalented

Traditional strengths

Common themes

Honest · Energetic · Intelligent · Flamboyant · Flexible

Traditional challenges

Common cautions

Vain · Arrogant · Critical · Impatient · Self-centered

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

Ox · Snake

Commonly described as favorable

Rat · Dragon · Horse · Goat · Monkey

Commonly described as challenging

Rabbit · Rooster · Dog

Traditional associations

Numbers, colors, flowers, and directions

Traditional numbers: 5 · 7 · 8
Traditional colors: Gold · Brown · Yellow
Traditional flowers: Gladiola · Impatiens
Traditional directions: West · Southwest · Northeast

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 Rooster with these fields. Career fit depends on the individual, not their zodiac animal.

NewsreaderTravel agentDentistSurgeonSoldier

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 Rooster?▼

Rooster years repeat every 12 years: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029. Each one begins at Chinese New Year rather than 1 January, so the 2029 Rooster year ran from 13 February 2029 to 2 February 2030.

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 Rooster?▼

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 Rooster year was a Earth Rooster (Yin).

Are Year of the Rooster personality readings scientific?▼

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