1938 / Chinese zodiac
1938 Chinese Zodiac: Earth Tiger
1938 is the Year of the Earth Tiger. It begins on January 31, 1938 and ends on February 18, 1939. If you were born before January 31, 1938, your sign is the Fire Ox.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1938?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1938. Choose the row containing your birthday. These dates include both the first and last day; the animal changes at Chinese New Year, not on January 1.
| Gregorian birthday | Animal & year element |
|---|---|
| – | Fire Ox 牛 |
| – | Earth Tiger 虎 |
The full 1938 lunar year continues into 1939, through February 18, 1939. A birthday on January 30, 1938 belongs to the Ox; a birthday one day later, on January 31, 1938, belongs to the Tiger.
YOUR STORY STARTS HERE
When were you born?
YOUR RESULT
02 / The story of the year
What kind of Tiger is 1938?
1938 is a Earth Tiger year. Its stem-branch name is 戊寅 (wù-yín): the heavenly stem 戊 carries yang earth, and the earthly branch 寅 corresponds to the Tiger.
- Zodiac animal
- Tiger · 虎
- Year element
- Earth
- Stem & branch
- 戊寅 · wù-yín
- Lunar year length
- 384 days
Tiger personality in tradition
The Tiger commonly represents courage and protective strength in Chinese art and storytelling.
The phrase “brave & spirited” describes a traditional association with this animal, rather than a rule about everyone born in 1938. The year element is one part of the calendar; it does not establish a person's complete five-elements or Bāzì chart.
我属虎。
Wǒ shǔ hǔ. “I was born in the Year of the Tiger.”
Tiger compatibility in folklore
Tiger, Horse and Dog form a traditional harmony group of three. Monkey sits opposite Tiger, six places away in the twelve-animal cycle. These describe symbolic positions, not evidence of who will make a good partner.
Explore traditional pairings →03 / A closer look at the dates
1938 lunar calendar at a glance
This Tiger year contains 13 lunar months and 384 days. Month 7 repeats as a leap month, starting August 25, 1938. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 1939.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 30 | ||
| Month 2 | 30 | ||
| Month 3 | 29 | ||
| Month 4 | 29 | ||
| Month 5 | 30 | ||
| Month 6 | 29 | ||
| Month 7 | 29 | ||
| Leap month 7 | 30 | ||
| Month 8 | 29 | ||
| Month 9 | 30 | ||
| Month 10 | 30 | ||
| Month 11 | 29 | ||
| Month 12 | 30 |
Sources & calendar convention
Dates are calculated from our local lunar-month dataset. The links below provide the Observatory’s calendar for this Gregorian year and an explanation of the stem-branch cycle. Cultural interpretations are introductory folklore, not predictions.