Chinese zodiac · 卯 · mǎo
Year of the Rabbit
Quick answer
Recent Rabbit years: 1999, 2011, and 2023; the next begins in 2035. Each one starts at Lunar New Year, between January 21 and February 20, so a birthday early in the year may belong to the year before. In the classical tables the best matches for the Rabbit are Dog (six harmony) and Pig and Goat (three harmony), and its clash is Rooster.
Earthly branch
卯 · mǎo
Fixed element
Wood
Yin or yang
Yin
Double hour (時辰)
05:00–07:00
Personality
The Rabbit is the cycle’s diplomat. In Chinese legend a jade rabbit lives on the Moon, pounding the elixir of life, and the animal carries that gentle, lunar grace. Rabbit people are traditionally seen as kind, tactful and refined.
卯 is sunrise and the heart of spring, wood in full leaf. Rabbits often have a fine sense of beauty and atmosphere, prefer peace to conflict, and have a gift for putting others at ease.
Strengths
- Kind and tactful
- An eye for beauty
- Calm in a crisis
- A good listener
Growing edges
Avoiding conflict can mean swallowing what matters. Rabbits grow by saying the hard thing gently, rather than not at all.
Love and friendship
Rabbits look for tenderness and a peaceful home. They tend to show love through attentiveness and small kindnesses, and they bloom with people who are gentle in return.
Compatibility
Chinese astrology pairs the twelve branches in a few classical ways. They describe tendencies between birth years, never a verdict on two real people: a full chart, and the people themselves, say much more.
Six harmony (六合)
Branches that combine as a pair. Traditionally the easiest, most complementary bond.
Animals four years apart that together form a frame of wood. Traditionally read as kindred spirits and natural allies.
Clash (六沖)
The animal six years away, opposite on the circle. Traditionally read as different rhythms: friction for some pairs, a useful balance for others.
Harm (六害)
A subtler mismatch in the classical tables, often read as small misunderstandings that ask for patience.
Rabbit years, 1900–2099
Each year runs from Lunar New Year to the eve of the next. Its element comes from the year’s heavenly stem, so the same element and animal return every sixty years.
| Year | Dates | Stem and branch |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | Jan 29, 1903 – Feb 15, 1904Water · Yin | 癸卯guǐ mǎo |
| 1915 | Feb 14, 1915 – Feb 2, 1916Wood · Yin | 乙卯yǐ mǎo |
| 1927 | Feb 2, 1927 – Jan 22, 1928Fire · Yin | 丁卯dīng mǎo |
| 1939 | Feb 19, 1939 – Feb 7, 1940Earth · Yin | 己卯jǐ mǎo |
| 1951 | Feb 6, 1951 – Jan 26, 1952Metal · Yin | 辛卯xīn mǎo |
| 1963 | Jan 25, 1963 – Feb 12, 1964Water · Yin | 癸卯guǐ mǎo |
| 1975 | Feb 11, 1975 – Jan 30, 1976Wood · Yin | 乙卯yǐ mǎo |
| 1987 | Jan 29, 1987 – Feb 16, 1988Fire · Yin | 丁卯dīng mǎo |
| 1999 | Feb 16, 1999 – Feb 4, 2000Earth · Yin | 己卯jǐ mǎo |
| 2011 | Feb 3, 2011 – Jan 22, 2012Metal · Yin | 辛卯xīn mǎo |
| 2023 | Jan 22, 2023 – Feb 9, 2024Water · Yin | 癸卯guǐ mǎo |
| 2035 | Feb 8, 2035 – Jan 27, 2036Wood · Yin | 乙卯yǐ mǎo |
| 2047 | Jan 26, 2047 – Feb 13, 2048Fire · Yin | 丁卯dīng mǎo |
| 2059 | Feb 12, 2059 – Feb 1, 2060Earth · Yin | 己卯jǐ mǎo |
| 2071 | Jan 31, 2071 – Feb 18, 2072Metal · Yin | 辛卯xīn mǎo |
| 2083 | Feb 17, 2083 – Feb 5, 2084Water · Yin | 癸卯guǐ mǎo |
| 2095 | Feb 5, 2095 – Jan 24, 2096Wood · Yin | 乙卯yǐ mǎo |
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