1988 / Chinese zodiac
1988 Chinese Zodiac: Earth Dragon
1988 is the Year of the Earth Dragon. It begins on February 17, 1988 and ends on February 5, 1989. If you were born before February 17, 1988, your sign is the Fire Rabbit.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1988?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1988. 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 Rabbit 兔 |
| – | Earth Dragon 龙 |
The full 1988 lunar year continues into 1989, through February 5, 1989. A birthday on February 16, 1988 belongs to the Rabbit; a birthday one day later, on February 17, 1988, belongs to the Dragon.
YOUR STORY STARTS HERE
When were you born?
YOUR RESULT
02 / The story of the year
What kind of Dragon is 1988?
1988 is a Earth Dragon year. Its stem-branch name is 戊辰 (wù-chén): the heavenly stem 戊 carries yang earth, and the earthly branch 辰 corresponds to the Dragon.
- Zodiac animal
- Dragon · 龙
- Year element
- Earth
- Stem & branch
- 戊辰 · wù-chén
- Lunar year length
- 355 days
Dragon personality in tradition
The Chinese dragon is a mythical creature associated with rain, vitality and auspicious power.
The phrase “vital & imaginative” describes a traditional association with this animal, rather than a rule about everyone born in 1988. The year element is one part of the calendar; it does not establish a person's complete five-elements or Bāzì chart.
我属龙。
Wǒ shǔ lóng. “I was born in the Year of the Dragon.”
Dragon compatibility in folklore
Dragon, Monkey and Rat form a traditional harmony group of three. Dog sits opposite Dragon, 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
1988 lunar calendar at a glance
This Dragon year contains 12 lunar months and 355 days. There is no leap lunar month in this year. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 1989.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 30 | ||
| Month 2 | 29 | ||
| Month 3 | 30 | ||
| Month 4 | 29 | ||
| Month 5 | 30 | ||
| Month 6 | 29 | ||
| Month 7 | 30 | ||
| Month 8 | 30 | ||
| Month 9 | 29 | ||
| Month 10 | 30 | ||
| Month 11 | 30 | ||
| Month 12 | 29 |
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.