1998 / Chinese zodiac
1998 Chinese Zodiac: Earth Tiger
1998 is the Year of the Earth Tiger. It begins on January 28, 1998 and ends on February 15, 1999. If you were born before January 28, 1998, your sign is the Fire Ox.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1998?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1998. 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 1998 lunar year continues into 1999, through February 15, 1999. A birthday on January 27, 1998 belongs to the Ox; a birthday one day later, on January 28, 1998, 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 1998?
1998 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 1998. 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
1998 lunar calendar at a glance
This Tiger year contains 13 lunar months and 384 days. Month 5 repeats as a leap month, starting June 24, 1998. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 1999.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 30 | ||
| Month 2 | 29 | ||
| Month 3 | 29 | ||
| Month 4 | 30 | ||
| Month 5 | 29 | ||
| Leap month 5 | 29 | ||
| Month 6 | 30 | ||
| 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.