In the Chinese zodiac, 2003 is the Year of the Goat, and its element is Water. The Water Goat year began on Saturday, February 1, 2003 and ended on Wednesday, January 21, 2004. Anyone born between those dates is a Water Goat. People born in January 2003 belong to the year before and are Water Horses.
When did the Year of the Goat start and end in 2003?
The zodiac year follows Lunar New Year, not January 1. In 2003 the new year fell on February 1, which makes this one of the easiest years to remember: the line between the two animals is the line between two months.
| Birthday | Sign |
|---|---|
| January 1 to January 31, 2003 | Water Horse |
| February 1, 2003 to January 21, 2004 | Water Goat |
| January 22, 2004 and later | Wood Monkey |
The Goat year lasted 355 days, an ordinary length for a year of 12 lunar months.
Were you born in January 2003 or January 2004?
These are the two groups that most often get the wrong answer from a simple year chart.
- Born on January 31, 2003? You are a Horse, by one day. The Year of the Horse ended that night.
- Born on February 1, 2003? You are a Goat, born on Lunar New Year's Day itself.
- Born on January 21, 2004? Still a Goat. It was the last day of the year.
- Born on January 22, 2004? A Monkey, the first of the new year.
So about three weeks of 2004 babies are Goats, and a full month of 2003 babies are not. To check a date, enter it below; the tool shows the animal and element for that exact day. It is also on the Birthday Profile page.
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What does Water Goat mean?
Each year in the traditional calendar has two labels, an animal and an element. The Goat is traditionally said to be gentle, artistic and kind, with a preference for a quiet life. Water is the element linked with flexibility, intuition and communication. Put together, the tradition pictures a Water Goat as a gentle sign with an adaptable, intuitive side. It is a folk portrait, not a description of anyone in particular.
In the old system of year names, 2003 is gui-wei: gui is the last of the ten "heavenly stems" and wei is the "earthly branch" that goes with the Goat. How the two series combine is explained on our page about Chinese New Year animals. The traits, the five element types and every Goat year are covered in the Goat in the Chinese zodiac.
Goat, Sheep or Ram: which is 2003?
All three. The Chinese word for the animal, yang, does not separate goats from sheep, so English sources have never agreed on one name. If a chart tells you that 2003 is the Year of the Sheep or the Year of the Ram, it means the same sign and the same dates. The story of the three names is in Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram?
When was the last Water Goat year, and when is the next?
The animal returns every 12 years, but the same animal with the same element returns only every 60.
| Water Goat year | First day | Last day |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | February 5, 1943 | January 24, 1944 |
| 2003 | February 1, 2003 | January 21, 2004 |
| 2063 | January 29, 2063 | February 16, 2064 |
Someone born in 2003 therefore shares a sign with people 60 years older and, eventually, 60 years younger. The Goat years in between carry other elements: 2015 was a Wood Goat year, and 2027 is a Fire Goat year.
How old are people born in 2003, and when is their next Goat year?
People born in 2003 turn 24 in 2027. For the Goats among them the timing is exact, because 2027 is a Goat year: it begins on February 6, 2027 and ends on January 25, 2028. It is their second return of the sign, after 2015.
The January 2003 Horses are a step ahead. Their own year is the one running now, the Horse year that ends on February 5, 2027.
A person's own zodiac year is called the ben ming nian. Folk belief treats it as a hurdle and not as a lucky year, and the custom that goes with it is wearing red. What the coming year is, and how it is celebrated, is on our Year of the Goat 2027 page.
The years on either side
- 2002 was a Water Horse year: February 12, 2002 to January 31, 2003. See 2002 in the Chinese zodiac.
- 2004 was a Wood Monkey year: January 22, 2004 to February 8, 2005. See 2004 in the Chinese zodiac.