Horse Chinese Zodiac Sign

马Wu午

The Horse is paired with the 午 (Wu) earthly branch. Below are its calendar years, traditional character, five elements, and traditional compatibility groupings.

Horse years:

Traditional character

Commonly described strengths: active, sociable, self-reliant
Commonly described challenges: impatient, easily bored

Traditional interpretation

These traits are part of cultural and traditional interpretation. They are provided for educational and cultural purposes only — not as a personality assessment.

Five Horse elements

Wood
Born in years ending in 41954, 2014, 2074
Fire
Born in years ending in 61966, 2026, 2086
Earth
Born in years ending in 81918, 1978, 2038
Metal
Born in years ending in 01930, 1990, 2050
Water
Born in years ending in 21942, 2002, 2062

Compatibility overview

Tiger Goat Dog

Often paired with Tiger, Goat, Dog.

Rat

Traditionally more challenging with Rat.

See compatibility guide

Horse years and exact dates

Every Horse year, with its element and exact Chinese New Year dates
Horse year	Element	Complete name	Begins	Ends
1906	Fire	Yang Fire Horse	25 January 1906	12 February 1907
1918	Earth	Yang Earth Horse	11 February 1918	31 January 1919
1930	Metal	Yang Metal Horse	30 January 1930	16 February 1931
1942	Water	Yang Water Horse	15 February 1942	4 February 1943
1954	Wood	Yang Wood Horse	3 February 1954	23 January 1955
1966	Fire	Yang Fire Horse	21 January 1966	8 February 1967
1978	Earth	Yang Earth Horse	7 February 1978	27 January 1979
1990	Metal	Yang Metal Horse	27 January 1990	14 February 1991
2002	Water	Yang Water Horse	12 February 2002	31 January 2003
2014	Wood	Yang Wood Horse	31 January 2014	18 February 2015
2026	Fire	Yang Fire Horse	17 February 2026	5 February 2027
2038	Earth	Yang Earth Horse	4 February 2038	23 January 2039
2050	Metal	Yang Metal Horse	23 January 2050	10 February 2051
2062	Water	Yang Water Horse	9 February 2062	28 January 2063
2074	Wood	Yang Wood Horse	27 January 2074	14 February 2075
2086	Fire	Yang Fire Horse	14 February 2086	2 February 2087
2098	Earth	Yang Earth Horse	1 February 2098	20 January 2099

People born before Chinese New Year belong to the preceding animal year — check an exact birth date with the calculator.