The Tiger is the third of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Recent Tiger years are 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 and 2022, and the next begins on February 19, 2034. Because the zodiac year starts on Lunar New Year and not on January 1, the exact dates decide who counts. People born under the sign are traditionally said to be brave, competitive and confident.
What years are Tiger years?
The Tiger returns every 12 years. The table lists the first and last day of each Tiger year from 1926 to 2034, with its element.
| Tiger year | First day | Last day | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | February 13, 1926 | February 1, 1927 | Fire |
| 1938 | January 31, 1938 | February 18, 1939 | Earth |
| 1950 | February 17, 1950 | February 5, 1951 | Metal |
| 1962 | February 5, 1962 | January 24, 1963 | Water |
| 1974 | January 23, 1974 | February 10, 1975 | Wood |
| 1986 | February 9, 1986 | January 28, 1987 | Fire |
| 1998 | January 28, 1998 | February 15, 1999 | Earth |
| 2010 | February 14, 2010 | February 2, 2011 | Metal |
| 2022 | February 1, 2022 | January 21, 2023 | Water |
| 2034 | February 19, 2034 | February 7, 2035 | Wood |
What if your birthday is in January or February?
Then the calendar year alone cannot tell you. Lunar New Year moves between January 21 and February 20, and the Tiger year moves with it: it began on January 23 in 1974 and will not begin until February 19 in 2034.
- Born on February 1, 1986? The Tiger year started eight days later. You are an Ox.
- Born on January 25, 2022? An Ox again. The Tiger year began on February 1.
- Born on February 10, 1999? You are a Tiger. Most people born in 1999 are Rabbits, but the Tiger year lasted until February 15.
Type a birthday into the tool below to get the animal and element for that date. It is the same one found on the Birthday Profile page.
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What is the Tiger's personality said to be?
The zodiac takes the tiger at face value, as the great cat it is. People born in a Tiger year are traditionally said to be brave, competitive and confident. National Museums Liverpool describes the sign as a mix of aggression, courage, candor and sensitivity, and notes that the tiger is a Chinese symbol of power, often compared to emperors and kings.
It is also a guardian. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the tiger was considered an animal that keeps evil away because it devours demons, and pillows made in the shape of a tiger were believed to protect a sleeper from malicious spirits.
The usual lists run like this:
- Said to be strengths: courage, energy, generosity, a taste for leading from the front.
- Said to be weaknesses: impatience, a quick temper, a tendency to act first and think afterward.
None of this is a finding about people. The same museum points out that linking character to birth year is a fairly recent habit that old Chinese texts do not mention. A Tiger year produces about one person in 12, of every temperament there is.
What are the five types of Tiger?
Every year in the traditional calendar has an element as well as an animal: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. The elements come from a cycle of ten "heavenly stems" that turns alongside the 12 animals, which is why a particular pairing, such as Water and Tiger, repeats only every 60 years.
Tiger years always end in an even number. The last digit gives the element.
| Type | Years | Year ends in | The element is traditionally linked with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Tiger | 1974, 2034 | 4 | Growth, generosity and cooperation |
| Fire Tiger | 1926, 1986 | 6 | Passion, energy and leadership |
| Earth Tiger | 1938, 1998 | 8 | Stability, patience and practicality |
| Metal Tiger | 1950, 2010 | 0 | Determination, discipline and strength |
| Water Tiger | 1962, 2022 | 2 | Flexibility, intuition and communication |
In the tradition, the element tints the animal. A Fire Tiger is described as the sign at full strength, since Fire is linked with the same energy and leadership the Tiger already stands for, and an Earth Tiger as a more grounded one. It is folklore, like the traits above.
Where does the Tiger come in the Great Race?
Third, and by its own effort. In the legend, the Jade Emperor had the animals race across a river to settle the order of the years. The Rat and the Ox arrived first, one riding on the other. The Tiger had no such help: it swam the current and came ashore in third place.
Storytellers vary the details, and it is told as a folktale. The whole race is on our page about Chinese New Year animals.
The animals are labels for an older set of counters, the 12 "earthly branches." The Tiger's branch is the third, written 寅 (yin); the animal is 虎 (hu). In the traditional clock the same branch covers the hours from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.
What does a Tiger year mean if you are a Tiger?
Children born from February 19, 2034 to February 7, 2035 will be Wood Tigers. For people born in earlier Tiger years, 2034 is their own sign's year, which arrives at ages 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60. At 60 the element matches too: those born in the Wood Tiger year of 1974 complete one full round of the 60-year cycle.
Folk belief does not treat this as a lucky year. The ben ming nian, a person's own zodiac year, is traditionally thought of as a hurdle, and the custom attached to it is wearing red. It is a belief to know about, not a forecast.
Which signs is the Tiger said to get along with?
Traditional lore places the Tiger in a group of three with the Horse and the Dog, and pairs it with the Pig. Its opposite, six places around the cycle, is the Monkey. What those sets are based on, and why they are folklore, is covered in our guide to Chinese zodiac compatibility.
The Tiger's neighbors in the cycle are the Ox before it and the Rabbit after. For the year about to start, see Year of the Goat 2027.