Year of the Rooster —
the meticulous perfectionist
| Rooster years | 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029 |
|---|---|
| Most recent | 2017 (Fire Rooster) |
| Next Rooster year | 2029 (Earth Rooster), from Feb 13, 2029 |
| Branch · element | 酉 You · Yin Metal |
| Best matches | Dragon, Ox, Snake |
| Hardest matches | Rabbit, Tiger |
| In 2027 | 76/100 — a steady year |
Roosters set clear standards and work hard to meet them. They are exact about plans, time and order.
Rooster years
Each Rooster year starts at Chinese New Year, so January and early-February birthdays belong to the sign before. The dates below are the Chinese calendar (UTC+8).
| Year | Sign | From – to |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Water Rooster 癸酉 | Jan 26, 1933 – Feb 13, 1934 |
| 1945 | Wood Rooster 乙酉 | Feb 13, 1945 – Feb 1, 1946 |
| 1957 | Fire Rooster 丁酉 | Jan 31, 1957 – Feb 17, 1958 |
| 1969 | Earth Rooster 己酉 | Feb 17, 1969 – Feb 5, 1970 |
| 1981 | Metal Rooster 辛酉 | Feb 5, 1981 – Jan 24, 1982 |
| 1993 | Water Rooster 癸酉 | Jan 23, 1993 – Feb 9, 1994 |
| 2005 | Wood Rooster 乙酉 | Feb 9, 2005 – Jan 28, 2006 |
| 2017 | Fire Rooster 丁酉 | Jan 28, 2017 – Feb 15, 2018 |
| 2029 | Earth Rooster 己酉 | Feb 13, 2029 – Feb 2, 2030 |
Personality
Strengths: diligence; precision and organization; honesty.
Challenges: criticism that stings; perfectionism; bluntness mistaken for coldness.
In love. Roosters can be blunt enough to hurt, but few people take responsibility for a relationship as seriously.
At work. Roosters earn trust in roles that need accuracy — management, accounting, quality control, medicine and law.
The five Roosters
The year’s heavenly stem adds one of five elements, so a 1981 Rooster and a 1993 one are not quite the same animal.
- Wood Rooster1945, 2005
The Wood Rooster is the most open-minded Rooster: principled, but willing to cooperate and compromise. - Fire Rooster1957, 2017
The Fire Rooster is energetic and dramatic, a born organizer with strong opinions about how things should run. - Earth Rooster1969, 2029
The Earth Rooster is practical and dependable, thorough in everything and deeply loyal. - Metal Rooster1981
The Metal Rooster is exacting and confident, uncompromising about standards — their own most of all. - Water Rooster1933, 1993
The Water Rooster is the most diplomatic, pairing sharp judgment with a gentler way of saying it.
Best and worst matches
Best: Dragon (88), Ox (84), Snake (72). Hardest: Rabbit (32), Tiger (42).
| With | Score | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon 辰 | 88 | Made for each other Secret friends |
| Ox 丑 | 84 | A strong match Natural allies |
| Snake 巳 | 72 | A comfortable match Natural allies |
| Monkey 申 | 71 | A comfortable match Same season |
| Goat 未 | 66 | A comfortable match Neutral |
| Pig 亥 | 66 | A comfortable match Neutral |
| Dog 戌 | 65 | A comfortable match Same season |
| Rat 子 | 59 | Needs work Break |
| Rooster & Rooster 酉 | 59 | Needs work Self-punishment |
| Horse 午 | 54 | Needs work Neutral |
| Tiger 寅 | 42 | A clashing pair Quiet resentment |
| Rabbit 卯 | 32 | A clashing pair Opposites |
Element associations
The Rooster’s branch carries Metal (金) — resolve, standards and clean decisions. In Korean tradition, Metal goes with white and silver, the west, and the numbers 4 and 9.
Beyond the year animal
Your animal sign is one of eight characters in a Korean saju chart, and not the one that describes you most closely. That job belongs to the Day Master, the stem of your birth day: ten natures from the Tall Pine to the Morning Dew. What saju is explains how the eight fit together.
The Rooster in 2027
The Year of the Fire Goat gives the Rooster 76/100 — a steady year (neutral with the goat). Read the Rooster’s 2027 horoscope → · Month by month for the Rooster
Questions about the Rooster
What years are the Year of the Rooster?
1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 and 2029. Each Rooster year starts at Chinese New Year, between January 21 and February 20, so a birthday early in one of those years can still belong to the sign before.
When is the next Year of the Rooster?
2029, from Feb 13, 2029 to Feb 2, 2030 — the Earth Rooster. The most recent was 2017, the Fire Rooster.
What is the Rooster most compatible with?
The Rooster’s best matches are the Dragon (88/100), the Ox (84/100) and the Snake (72/100); the hardest are the Rabbit (32) and the Tiger (42).
What element is the Rooster?
The Rooster’s branch 酉 carries Metal, which it keeps every year. The year’s stem adds a second element, so there are five kinds of Rooster: Wood Rooster, Fire Rooster, Earth Rooster, Metal Rooster, Water Rooster.
Korean: 닭띠 · 닭띠 궁합 · 2027년 닭띠 운세 · All signs: Rat · Ox · Tiger · Rabbit · Dragon · Snake · Horse · Goat · Monkey · Rooster · Dog · Pig
