2012 / Chinese zodiac
2012 Chinese Zodiac: Water Dragon
2012 is the Year of the Water Dragon. It begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013. If you were born before January 23, 2012, your sign is the Metal Rabbit.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 2012?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 2012. 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 |
|---|---|
| – | Metal Rabbit 兔 |
| – | Water Dragon 龙 |
The full 2012 lunar year continues into 2013, through February 9, 2013. A birthday on January 22, 2012 belongs to the Rabbit; a birthday one day later, on January 23, 2012, 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 2012?
2012 is a Water Dragon year. Its stem-branch name is 壬辰 (rén-chén): the heavenly stem 壬 carries yang water, and the earthly branch 辰 corresponds to the Dragon.
- Zodiac animal
- Dragon · 龙
- Year element
- Water
- Stem & branch
- 壬辰 · rén-chén
- Lunar year length
- 384 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 2012. 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
2012 lunar calendar at a glance
This Dragon year contains 13 lunar months and 384 days. Month 4 repeats as a leap month, starting May 21, 2012. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 2013.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 30 | ||
| Month 2 | 29 | ||
| Month 3 | 30 | ||
| Month 4 | 30 | ||
| Leap month 4 | 29 | ||
| Month 5 | 30 | ||
| Month 6 | 29 | ||
| Month 7 | 30 | ||
| Month 8 | 29 | ||
| Month 9 | 30 | ||
| Month 10 | 29 | ||
| 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.