2018 / Chinese zodiac
2018 Chinese Zodiac: Earth Dog
2018 is the Year of the Earth Dog. It begins on February 16, 2018 and ends on February 4, 2019. If you were born before February 16, 2018, your sign is the Fire Rooster.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 2018?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 2018. 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 Rooster 鸡 |
| – | Earth Dog 狗 |
The full 2018 lunar year continues into 2019, through February 4, 2019. A birthday on February 15, 2018 belongs to the Rooster; a birthday one day later, on February 16, 2018, belongs to the Dog.
YOUR STORY STARTS HERE
When were you born?
YOUR RESULT
02 / The story of the year
What kind of Dog is 2018?
2018 is a Earth Dog year. Its stem-branch name is 戊戌 (wù-xū): the heavenly stem 戊 carries yang earth, and the earthly branch 戌 corresponds to the Dog.
- Zodiac animal
- Dog · 狗
- Year element
- Earth
- Stem & branch
- 戊戌 · wù-xū
- Lunar year length
- 354 days
Dog personality in tradition
The Dog commonly symbolizes loyalty and companionship in popular accounts of the zodiac.
The phrase “loyal & sincere” describes a traditional association with this animal, rather than a rule about everyone born in 2018. The year element is one part of the calendar; it does not establish a person's complete five-elements or Bāzì chart.
我属狗。
Wǒ shǔ gǒu. “I was born in the Year of the Dog.”
Dog compatibility in folklore
Dog, Tiger and Horse form a traditional harmony group of three. Dragon sits opposite Dog, 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
2018 lunar calendar at a glance
This Dog year contains 12 lunar months and 354 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 2019.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 29 | ||
| Month 2 | 30 | ||
| Month 3 | 29 | ||
| Month 4 | 30 | ||
| Month 5 | 29 | ||
| Month 6 | 29 | ||
| Month 7 | 30 | ||
| Month 8 | 29 | ||
| Month 9 | 30 | ||
| Month 10 | 29 | ||
| Month 11 | 30 | ||
| 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.