Year of the Tiger: Exact Birth Dates and Elements

Which birth dates are Tiger years?

The table gives the inclusive date range for each listed Tiger lunar year. A Gregorian calendar year can contain part of two animal years. Read the start and end dates rather than only the year number.

Each end date is the day before the following lunar New Year in the Observatory's calendar. The linked year PDF gives the start date and stem name; the Observatory's year index provides the following year's table. This table covers 1926–2022; the main calculator supports birthdays from 1902 through 2030.

The one-day checks that a year list misses

These paired dates show how a birthday moves across the boundary. The previous animal is Ox, because Ox directly precedes Tiger in the 12-animal cycle; the Tiger element comes from the year stem, not from the animal alone.

The word “Tiger” in a birth-year list is only a candidate. If the birth date is in January or February, check the actual Lunar New Year date. A person born early in the calendar year after a listed Tiger year may also still be a Tiger.

Why 2022 and 2010 are different kinds of Tiger

2022 is a Water Tiger year and 2010 is a Metal Tiger year. The animal repeats after 12 years, but the ten heavenly stems also move; the animal–stem combination returns after 60 years. Following the listed years backward: 1998 Earth, 1986 Fire, and 1974 Wood. These are year labels. They do not calculate a complete BaZi chart or measure anyone's personality.

The Tiger's fixed branch association and a birth year's stem element answer different questions. This is why “Tiger is associated with Wood” does not make every Tiger year a Wood Tiger. See the year element chart for the wider cycle.

Quick answers

Watch the one-day check

Method and sources

The Hong Kong Observatory's animal-cycle guide gives the 12-animal order. Its 2022 calendar marks February 1 as the first lunar month of Ren-yin Tiger; its 2023 calendar marks January 22 as the next New Year. Each table row links the corresponding primary calendar. The pair checks and five-year comparison are original calculations from those dated tables.

This page uses Lunar New Year for the year animal, as does the site's calculator. Some Four Pillars systems use Start of Spring for the year pillar; this page does not calculate BaZi, birth-hour animals, DST or true solar time. Cultural interpretations are beliefs, not factual diagnoses. For broad animal associations, visit the signs meaning guide; for a personal date, use the calculator.

1926 Fire Tiger date check

For an exact 1926 birthday, see the 1926 Fire Tiger or Wood Ox date guide. January 1–February 12 remains in the previous lunar year.

1962 Water Tiger date check

The 1962 Water Tiger birth-date guide compares the February 5, 1962 cutoff with February 1, 2022. The same February 2 birthday gives a different result in the two years.