Pig

The Pig dossier

Traits. Sincere, generous and diligent — enjoys life's good things honestly and works harder than it lets on.

Fixed element — Water. intuition, flow and diplomacy — a Water year deepens the animal: more perceptive, more adaptable, quieter about its power. Every Pig carries Water underneath, whatever the year adds on top.

The year’s own element rotates by its final digit — 0 or 1 Metal, 2 or 3 Water, 4 or 5 Wood, 6 or 7 Fire, 8 or 9 Earth — so across the 60-year cycle the Pig returns in five element forms, each one read against the fixed element beneath it.

The Pig through the cycle

Every Pig year in the table the record holds, with the year’s element and the Lunar New Year that year began on. A birthday in January or February before that date belongs to the previous animal.

The five Pigs

Wood Pig — 1995. growth, generosity and expansion — a Wood year broadens the animal: more idealistic, more cooperative, always growing toward something.

Fire Pig — 2007. passion, visibility and speed — a Fire year heats the animal up: bolder, faster, more dramatic, impossible to ignore.

Earth Pig — 2019. stability, patience and practicality — an Earth year grounds the animal: steadier, more methodical, focused on what lasts.

Metal Pig — 1971, 2031. precision, resolve and edge — a Metal year sharpens the animal: more determined, more exacting, harder to bend. A Metal Dragon (born in a Dragon year ending in 0, like 2000), for example, is the Dragon's boldness with a steel core — ambitious, precise and uncompromising.

Water Pig — 1983. intuition, flow and diplomacy — a Water year deepens the animal: more perceptive, more adaptable, quieter about its power.

Alliances and clashes

The Pig sits in the Harmony trine (the harmonizers) with the Rabbit and the Goat. Animals in the same affinity triangle are the classic harmonious pairings of the Chinese system.

Its secret friend is the Tiger — one of the six secret-friend pairs, the quiet alliances: loyal, low-drama, mutually protective. Directly opposite in the cycle sits the Snake — the classic clash pairing: real friction, and the fascination that can come with it.

Pig questions

What years are Pig years?
Pig years in the table the record holds (1960–2032): 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031. The Chinese year begins at Lunar New Year — late January to mid-February — so a birthday before that year's new year date belongs to the previous animal.

What is the Pig's element?
The Pig's fixed element is Water — every Pig carries it underneath. intuition, flow and diplomacy — a Water year deepens the animal: more perceptive, more adaptable, quieter about its power. The year adds a rotating element on top: in the recorded cycle the Pig appears as Wood Pig (1995); Fire Pig (2007); Earth Pig (2019); Metal Pig (1971, 2031); Water Pig (1983).

Who does the Pig harmonize with?
The Pig sits in the Harmony trine (the harmonizers) with the Rabbit and the Goat — one of the classic harmonious pairings of the Chinese system. Its secret friend is the Tiger, the quiet alliance; and the animal opposite in the cycle, the Snake, is its clash.

How does Match By Zodiac read my Chinese sign?
Match By Zodiac works your Chinese animal and element out from your birth date — with the real Lunar New Year boundary, so January and February birthdays land on the right animal — and reads them alongside your Sun, Moon and Rising signs in pair reads. The Western and Chinese systems are kept separate, never averaged.

Find your Chinese sign

The free Finder reads your animal and element from one birth date — with the real Lunar New Year boundary — and your Sun, Moon and Rising signs in the same pass.