In the Chinese zodiac, 1994 is the Year of the Dog, with Wood as its element. The Wood Dog year began on Thursday, February 10, 1994 and ended on Monday, January 30, 1995. Anyone born between those dates is a Wood Dog. Anyone born from January 1 to February 9, 1994 belongs to the year before and is a Water Rooster.
When did the Year of the Dog start and end in 1994?
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to February 9, 1994 | Water Rooster |
| February 10, 1994 to January 30, 1995 | Wood Dog |
| January 31, 1995 and later | Wood Pig |
The Dog year was a regular one, with 12 lunar months and 355 days. Forty days of 1994 came before it, and it covered the first 30 days of 1995.
Were you born in January or February?
The first 40 days of 1994 are the ones a year chart gets wrong. They belong to a Rooster year that had started early in 1993 and, with a leap month, run long; the story is in 1993 in the Chinese zodiac.
- Born on January 20, 1994? You are a Rooster.
- Born on February 9, 1994? A Rooster, on the final day of its year.
- Born on February 10, 1994? You are a Dog, born on Lunar New Year's Day.
- Born on January 25, 1995? A Dog too. The Pig year began on January 31.
To check a date, type it into the tool below. It shows the animal and the element and can also be used on the Birthday Profile page.
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1994 and the ten-year count
Every traditional year has a two-part name. One part comes from a series of 12 "earthly branches," which are matched with the animals. The other comes from a series of ten "heavenly stems," which are grouped under the five elements.
In that naming, 1994 is jia-xu. Xu is the branch of the Dog. Jia is the very first of the ten stems, so 1994 opened a new round of the ten-year count, and with it a new element. February 10, 1994 was therefore a double change: from Rooster to Dog and from Water to Wood. The Pig year that followed is the second Wood year, and at its start only the animal changed.
The same thing happens in every year ending in 4. How the stems and branches build a cycle of 60 is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals.
What does Wood Dog mean?
The Dog is traditionally said to be loyal, honest and protective; National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as loyal, quick-witted and candid, and good at working with others. Wood is the element linked with growth, generosity and cooperation. A Wood Dog, in the tradition, is a loyal sign in a year of a generous, cooperative element. That is folklore, and it should not be read as a description of a real person.
Every Dog year, the sign's traits and the five element types are in the Dog in the Chinese zodiac.
When was the last Wood Dog year, and when is the next?
| Wood Dog year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1934 | February 14, 1934 | February 3, 1935 |
| 1994 | February 10, 1994 | January 30, 1995 |
| 2054 | February 8, 2054 | January 27, 2055 |
Sixty years lie between one Wood Dog year and the next. These three keep close company in the calendar: each begins in the second week of February.
How old are people born in 1994, and when is their next Dog year?
People born in 1994 turn 33 in 2027. The Dog has returned twice in their lifetime, in 2006 and 2018. Its next year begins on February 3, 2030 and ends on January 22, 2031.
A person's own zodiac year is known as the ben ming nian. In folk belief it is a hurdle and not a lucky year, and people wear red during it.
The years on either side
- 1993 was a Water Rooster year: January 23, 1993 to February 9, 1994.
- 1995 was a Wood Pig year: January 31, 1995 to February 18, 1996. See 1995 in the Chinese zodiac.