2009: Year of the Earth Ox
The 2009 Chinese zodiac year is the Yin Earth Ox, and it runs from 26 January 2009 to 13 February 2010 — not from 1 January.
- Animal
- Ox 牛
- Element and polarity
- Yin Earth
- Gan-Zhi
- Ji Chou 己丑
- Age this zodiac year
- Born in 2009, a person turns 17 during the 2026 year
Born early in 2009? You may be Rat, not Ox
Chinese New Year 2009 fell on 26 January 2009. Anyone born between 1 January 2009 and 25 January 2009 — a window of 25 days — belongs to the 2008 zodiac year, the Yang Earth Rat, and not to the Ox.
Check an exact birth date against the 26 January 2009 boundary.
Exact 2009 zodiac year dates
The 2009 lunar year carried a leap month, stretching it to 384 days — which is why the following Chinese New Year falls comparatively late.
Other Ox years around 2009
| Ox year | Complete name | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Yin Water Ox | 3 February 1973 |
| 1985 | Yin Wood Ox | 20 February 1985 |
| 1997 | Yin Fire Ox | 7 February 1997 |
| 2021 | Yin Metal Ox | 12 February 2021 |
| 2033 | Yin Water Ox | 31 January 2033 |
| 2045 | Yin Wood Ox | 17 February 2045 |
The exact pairing 己丑 — Yin Earth Ox — returns only once every sixty years: 1949, 2069.