The Goat is the eighth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Recent Goat years are 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003 and 2015, and the next begins on February 6, 2027. Because each year starts on Lunar New Year rather than January 1, the exact dates matter. People born under the sign are traditionally said to be gentle, artistic and kind.
What years are Goat years?
A Goat year comes around every 12 years. The table gives the first and last day of each one, along with its element.
| Goat year | First day | Last day | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | February 17, 1931 | February 5, 1932 | Metal |
| 1943 | February 5, 1943 | January 24, 1944 | Water |
| 1955 | January 24, 1955 | February 11, 1956 | Wood |
| 1967 | February 9, 1967 | January 29, 1968 | Fire |
| 1979 | January 28, 1979 | February 15, 1980 | Earth |
| 1991 | February 15, 1991 | February 3, 1992 | Metal |
| 2003 | February 1, 2003 | January 21, 2004 | Water |
| 2015 | February 19, 2015 | February 7, 2016 | Wood |
| 2027 | February 6, 2027 | January 25, 2028 | Fire |
| 2039 | January 24, 2039 | February 11, 2040 | Earth |
Were you born in January or February?
Then check before you call yourself a Goat. The zodiac year changes on Lunar New Year, which falls between January 21 and February 20.
- Born on January 30, 1991? The Goat year had not started yet. You are a Horse.
- Born on January 15, 2004? The Goat year was still running. You are a Goat, even though most 2004 babies are Monkeys.
- Born on February 10, 1979? You are a Goat. The year began on January 28.
Enter a birthday below to see the animal and element for that exact date. The same tool is on the Birthday Profile page.
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What is the Goat's personality said to be?
The zodiac gives each animal a character, and people born in its year are said to share it. For the Goat the portrait is a soft one. A Penn Museum note for its 2015 new year celebration sums up the traditional view: people born in this year are tender, wise and polite, with an affinity for art and beauty and a preference for quiet living.
Other traits often attached to the sign:
- Said to be strengths: kindness, patience, creativity, good taste, a talent for keeping the peace.
- Said to be weaknesses: indecision, shyness, worrying, a dislike of confrontation.
The animal itself has a good name in Chinese culture. Its character, 羊 (yang), is part of the written characters for "beautiful," "good" and "auspicious," as sinologist Victor Mair has pointed out.
A fair warning: these are character sketches from folk tradition, like the ones attached to Western star signs. Roughly one person in 12 is born in a Goat year, and they are as different from one another as any other group that size. Enjoy the description, and avoid using it to judge anyone.
What are the five types of Goat?
Each zodiac year also carries one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. The element comes from a second cycle of ten "heavenly stems" that runs alongside the 12 animals. A given pairing, such as Fire and Goat, returns only once in 60 years.
There is a shortcut. For Goat years, the last digit of the year tells you the element.
| Type | Years | Year ends in | The element is traditionally linked with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Goat | 1931, 1991 | 1 | Determination, discipline and strength |
| Water Goat | 1943, 2003 | 3 | Flexibility, intuition and communication |
| Wood Goat | 1955, 2015 | 5 | Growth, generosity and cooperation |
| Fire Goat | 1967, 2027 | 7 | Passion, energy and leadership |
| Earth Goat | 1979, 2039 | 9 | Stability, patience and practicality |
In the tradition, the element colors the animal's character. A Fire Goat is described as a more outgoing, energetic version of the sign, and an Earth Goat as a steadier, more practical one. The same caution applies here as above.
Goat years are also yin years. Yin and yang alternate from one year to the next, and the Goat always lands on yin.
What does a Goat year mean if you are a Goat?
Babies born from February 6, 2027 to January 25, 2028 are Fire Goats. For everyone born in an earlier Goat year, 2027 is their own zodiac year come round again, at age 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and so on. The 60th birthday is the special one: it is the first time both the animal and the element of your birth year repeat, so a person born in the Fire Goat year of 1967 completes a full cycle in 2027.
One folk belief goes with this. Your own zodiac year is traditionally seen as a hurdle to get over, not a lucky year, and the customary precaution is to wear red underwear until it has passed. The Lam Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University notes that many people still observe it.
More about the year itself, with its dates and traditions, is on our Year of the Goat 2027 page.
Is the sign a Goat, a Sheep or a Ram?
All three are translations of the same Chinese word, which does not distinguish between goats and sheep. If you were told you were born in the Year of the Sheep or the Year of the Ram, you have the same sign. The reasons are in Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram?
Which signs is the Goat said to get along with?
Traditional matchmaking lore groups the 12 animals into sets that are considered harmonious. The Goat is grouped with the Rabbit and the Pig, and paired with the Horse; its opposite on the zodiac wheel is the Ox. How those groupings work, and why they are best treated as folklore, is explained in our guide to Chinese zodiac compatibility.
To see the Goat's place among the other animals, go to Chinese New Year animals.