Rabbit

The Rabbit dossier

Traits. Gentle, diplomatic and refined — a peace-seeker with quiet steel underneath. The Rabbit wins by grace, not force.

Fixed element — Wood. growth, generosity and expansion — a Wood year broadens the animal: more idealistic, more cooperative, always growing toward something. Every Rabbit carries Wood 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 Rabbit returns in five element forms, each one read against the fixed element beneath it.

The Rabbit through the cycle

Every Rabbit 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 Rabbits

Wood Rabbit — 1975. growth, generosity and expansion — a Wood year broadens the animal: more idealistic, more cooperative, always growing toward something.

Fire Rabbit — 1987. passion, visibility and speed — a Fire year heats the animal up: bolder, faster, more dramatic, impossible to ignore.

Earth Rabbit — 1999. stability, patience and practicality — an Earth year grounds the animal: steadier, more methodical, focused on what lasts.

Metal Rabbit — 2011. 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 Rabbit — 1963, 2023. intuition, flow and diplomacy — a Water year deepens the animal: more perceptive, more adaptable, quieter about its power.

Alliances and clashes

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

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

Rabbit questions

What years are Rabbit years?
Rabbit years in the table the record holds (1960–2032): 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023. 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 Rabbit's element?
The Rabbit's fixed element is Wood — every Rabbit carries it underneath. growth, generosity and expansion — a Wood year broadens the animal: more idealistic, more cooperative, always growing toward something. The year adds a rotating element on top: in the recorded cycle the Rabbit appears as Wood Rabbit (1975); Fire Rabbit (1987); Earth Rabbit (1999); Metal Rabbit (2011); Water Rabbit (1963, 2023).

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