Year of the Dog: the Chinese zodiac sign and the character 狗

October 21, 2026 · 7 min read

The Dog is number 11 of the twelve, the eleventh animal of the Chinese zodiac, between the Rooster and the Pig. If you were born in 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, you're probably a Dog. "Probably", because the zodiac year starts on Chinese New Year, somewhere between late January and mid February, not on January 1. The next Year of the Dog is 2030: a Metal Dog year, running from February 3, 2030 to January 22, 2031.

Years of the Dog

Every Dog year from 1924 to 2043, with the day it began, the day it ended and its element:

Dog in Chinese: 狗 gǒu

"Dog" is 狗, 狗 gǒu — dog, and it's the same word in the zodiac and in everyday life. It sounds a lot like English "go", but with the third tone: the voice drops low and, when the word is said on its own, rises again at the end. In a sentence the rise usually disappears and the syllable just stays low. If the third tone gives you trouble, this guide to the third tone walks through it.

Look at the left side of 狗: that's 犭, the "animal" radical. It began as a drawing of a dog, so it turns up in the names of many four-legged animals, including 猫 māo, "cat", and 猪 zhū, "pig". The right side, 句, once hinted at the sound. There's also an older, more formal word for dog, 犬 quǎn. You'll see it in written terms like 警犬 jǐngquǎn, "police dog", and 导盲犬 dǎomángquǎn, "guide dog", but nobody calls their pet a 犬.

Among the twelve earthly branches the Dog's sign is 戌 xū. Each branch also named a two-hour slice of the day, and 戌时 covered 7 to 9 in the evening, the hour when, as a popular explanation goes, the dog starts keeping watch over the house.

Words and idioms with 狗

Tap a card to hear it; cards without a speaker have no recording yet.

• 狗gǒudog
• 小狗xiǎogǒupuppy; little dog
• 狗年gǒuniánthe Year of the Dog
• 遛狗liùgǒuto walk the dog
• 热狗règǒuhot dogtranslated word for word
• 单身狗dānshēngǒua single personself-mocking internet slang: "single dog"

Two expressions you'll hear in real conversation. Note how neither is flattering: unlike "lucky dog" or "top dog" in English, 狗 in Chinese idioms is rarely a compliment, and calling a person a dog is an insult. 单身狗 works only because people say it about themselves.

• 狗急跳墙gǒujítiàoqiánga cornered dog will jump over a walldesperate people do desperate things
• 鸡飞狗跳jīfēigǒutiàochickens flying, dogs jumpingtotal chaos, a house turned upside down

Dogs come up early in any Chinese course, so here are a few real sentences. Animals are counted with the measure word 只 zhī — measure word for animals: one dog is 一只狗 yì zhī gǒu.

• 你家养狗吗？nǐjiāyǎnggǒumaDo you have a dog at home?
• 我家有一只猫和两只狗。wǒjiāyǒuyìzhīmāohéliǎngzhīgǒuWe have a cat and two dogs.
• 小狗一看见我就摇尾巴。xiǎogǒuyíkànjiànwǒjiùyáowěibaThe puppy wags its tail as soon as it sees me.
• 别怕，这只狗不咬人。biépà,zhèzhīgǒubùyǎorénDon't be afraid, this dog doesn't bite.

For cats, birds and the rest of the animal kingdom, see Animals in Chinese.

"I'm a Dog": saying your sign in Chinese

The verb is 属 shǔ — to be born in the year of, and the animal follows it as a single syllable:

• 我属狗。wǒshǔgǒuI'm a Dog.
• 你属什么？nǐshǔshénmeWhat's your zodiac animal?
• 他是马年出生的。tāshìmǎniánchūshēngdeHe was born in the Year of the Horse.
• 他比我大一轮，我们都属牛。tābǐwǒdàyìlún,wǒmendōushǔniúHe's twelve years older than me; we're both Oxen.

Swap 马 for 狗 in the third sentence and you have "he was born in the Year of the Dog", 狗年 gǒu nián. A pronunciation trap in 我属狗: it's three third tones in a row, and Chinese doesn't say them all low. 属 rises before 狗, giving shú gǒu, and in quick speech 我 often rises too: "wó shú gǒu". Pinyin still writes the original tones.

Asking 你属什么？ is a polite way to find out someone's age, because the animal narrows it down to a twelve-year window. Two people with the same sign are 一轮 yì lún, "one round", apart, or two, or three.

Dog personality in Chinese tradition

No surprises here: the Dog is the loyal one. In folk tradition people born in a Dog year are said to be faithful, honest, fair-minded and protective of the people they love, the friend who tells you the truth and turns up when you need help. The other side is a tendency to worry, to be suspicious of strangers and to dig in their heels. As always with the zodiac, it's folklore and conversation, not a character reference.

• 忠诚zhōngchéngloyal
• 诚实chéngshíhonest
• 可靠kěkàoreliable
• 善良shànliángkind-hearted

The five elements add a second layer, one element per Dog year in a sixty-year cycle: Water Dog (1982), Wood Dog (1994), Fire Dog (2006), Earth Dog (2018), Metal Dog (2030). Lore gives each element a flavor (Fire energy, Earth steadiness, Metal firmness, Water flexibility, Wood generosity), and the element of any Dog year is in the table above.

Dog compatibility

Chinese tradition puts the Dog in a trio with the Tiger (虎) and the Horse (马): the 三合 sānhé, signs four years apart that are said to get along best. The traditional clash is with the sign six years away, on the opposite side of the circle, the Dragon (龙). That pairing is one of the 六冲 liùchōng, the six clashes. Most couples don't take it seriously today, but you may still hear it mentioned before a wedding.

2030: the next běnmìngnián for Dogs

Your own animal's year, 本命年 běnmìngnián, is traditionally the one year in twelve when luck turns against you. The custom is to wear red: red underwear, red socks, a red string bracelet, ideally given by someone who loves you. For Dogs that year is 2030, starting on February 3, 2030. The previous one was 2018. Red, the color of luck, also wraps the 红包 hóngbāo — red envelope with money given at New Year.

The 12 Chinese zodiac animals

• 鼠 Rat
• 牛 Ox
• 虎 Tiger
• 兔 Rabbit
• 龙 Dragon
• 蛇 Snake
• 马 Horse
• 羊 Goat
• 猴 Monkey
• 鸡 Rooster
• 狗 Dog
• 猪 Pig

For every animal's years in one table, see the Chinese zodiac years chart. The holiday that starts each year is explained in Chinese New Year, and the wishes to go with it are in Chinese New Year greetings.