1938: Year of the Earth Tiger
The 1938 Chinese zodiac year is the Yang Earth Tiger, and it runs from 31 January 1938 to 18 February 1939 — not from 1 January.
- Animal
- Tiger 虎
- Element and polarity
- Yang Earth
- Gan-Zhi
- Wu Yin 戊寅
- Age this zodiac year
- Born in 1938, a person turns 88 during the 2026 year
Born early in 1938? You may be Ox, not Tiger
Chinese New Year 1938 fell on 31 January 1938. Anyone born between 1 January 1938 and 30 January 1938 — a window of 30 days — belongs to the 1937 zodiac year, the Yin Fire Ox, and not to the Tiger.
Check an exact birth date against the 31 January 1938 boundary.
Exact 1938 zodiac year dates
The 1938 lunar year carried a leap month, stretching it to 384 days — which is why the following Chinese New Year falls comparatively late.
Other Tiger years around 1938
| Tiger year | Complete name | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 1902 | Yang Water Tiger | 8 February 1902 |
| 1914 | Yang Wood Tiger | 26 January 1914 |
| 1926 | Yang Fire Tiger | 13 February 1926 |
| 1950 | Yang Metal Tiger | 17 February 1950 |
| 1962 | Yang Water Tiger | 5 February 1962 |
| 1974 | Yang Wood Tiger | 23 January 1974 |
The exact pairing 戊寅 — Yang Earth Tiger — returns only once every sixty years: 1998, 2058.