Year of the Goat (Sheep) 2027: the Chinese zodiac Goat and 羊 in Chinese
The Goat, 羊 yáng, is the eighth animal of the Chinese zodiac, between the Horse and the Monkey. You'll also see it called the Sheep or the Ram: it's the same sign, and the reason is in the Chinese word itself (more on that below). Goat years are 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027.
The next one is close. In the 2027 Chinese zodiac, the animal is the Goat: 2027 is the Year of the Fire Goat, 丁未. It starts on February 6, 2027, Chinese New Year, and ends on January 25, 2028. Until then it's still the Year of the Horse.
That's the rule for every sign: a zodiac year doesn't begin on January 1 but on Chinese New Year, which moves with the moon between late January and mid-February. Below you'll find every Goat year with its exact dates, and then the Chinese: why one word means goat, sheep and ram, how to say it, and the puns that fill Goat-year greeting cards.
Year of the Goat 2027: when it starts and ends
The Year of the Fire Goat runs from February 6, 2027 to January 25, 2028. Its Chinese name, 丁未, comes from the 60-year cycle: the first character gives the element, Fire, and the second is the Goat's earthly branch. The last Goat year was 2015; after 2027, the next is 2039.
Years of the Goat
| Year | Starts | Ends | Element | In Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | February 17, 1931 | February 5, 1932 | Metal Goat | 辛未 · 金羊 |
| 1943 | February 5, 1943 | January 24, 1944 | Water Goat | 癸未 · 水羊 |
| 1955 | January 24, 1955 | February 11, 1956 | Wood Goat | 乙未 · 木羊 |
| 1967 | February 9, 1967 | January 29, 1968 | Fire Goat | 丁未 · 火羊 |
| 1979 | January 28, 1979 | February 15, 1980 | Earth Goat | 己未 · 土羊 |
| 1991 | February 15, 1991 | February 3, 1992 | Metal Goat | 辛未 · 金羊 |
| 2003 | February 1, 2003 | January 21, 2004 | Water Goat | 癸未 · 水羊 |
| 2015 | February 19, 2015 | February 7, 2016 | Wood Goat | 乙未 · 木羊 |
| 2027 | February 6, 2027 | January 25, 2028 | Fire Goat | 丁未 · 火羊 |
| 2039 | January 24, 2039 | February 11, 2040 | Earth Goat | 己未 · 土羊 |
Goat, Sheep or Ram? 羊 in Chinese
The answer to the most common question about this sign is: all three. Chinese has one word for goats, sheep and rams alike, , and the zodiac uses just that character. English needs to pick, so some calendars say Goat, some Sheep, some Ram, and none of them is wrong. When Chinese itself needs to be precise, it adds a word in front:
- 山羊shānyánggoata "mountain 羊"
- 绵羊miányángsheepa "soft, woolly 羊"
- 公羊gōngyángrama male 羊
- 小羊xiǎoyánglamb, kida "little 羊"
羊 is a picture of the animal's head seen from the front: the two short strokes on top are the horns. It's a lucky character. It sits on top of , and it's inside 祥 xiáng, "auspicious", as in . An ancient Chinese dictionary explains 羊 with just one word: 祥.
To say it, use the second tone: the voice rises, as when you ask "yang?" in surprise. The vowel is an open "ah", so yáng sounds like "yahng", not like the "a" in "yank". Many other characters are read exactly the same way, among them 洋 yáng, "ocean, abundant", and 阳 yáng, "sun, yang" (as in yin and yang). Keep those two in mind: the New Year puns below are built on them.
The Goat's earthly branch is 未 wèi, which also marks the hours from 1 to 3 p.m. In modern Chinese 未 means "not yet", and you know it from , literally "what hasn't come yet".
Words and idioms with 羊
- 我不吃羊肉。wǒbùchīyángròuI don't eat lamb (mutton).羊肉 yángròu covers both: the meat of any 羊
- 除了羊肉，我都吃。chúleyángròu,wǒdōuchīI eat everything except lamb.
- 牛和羊都吃草。niúhéyángdōuchīcǎoCows and sheep both eat grass.
- 他家养了好多牛和羊。tājiāyǎnglehǎoduōniúhéyángHis family keeps a lot of cattle and sheep.
Two sayings with 羊 that Chinese people really use:
- 亡羊补牢wángyángbǔláoto mend the pen after losing a sheepNot a reproach but encouragement: it is not too late to fix a mistake.
- 羊毛出在羊身上yángmáochūzàiyángshēnshangthe wool comes off the sheep's own backSaid about a free gift or a discount: in the end, you're the one paying for it.
Wool itself is 羊毛 yángmáo, "goat or sheep hair", and the story behind the first idiom is in Chinese proverbs and idioms.
Year of the Goat greetings for 2027
Every Chinese New Year has wishes tied to its animal, and the Goat is the best sign for wordplay, because yáng sounds like so many good things. These are the ones you'll see on cards and red posters in 2027:
- 羊年大吉yángniándàjíGreat luck in the Year of the Goat!the simplest Goat-year wish: 大吉 means "great fortune"
- 喜气洋洋xǐqìyángyángbeaming with joy, full of festive cheer洋洋 means "brimming over". In a Goat year it is often written 喜气羊羊: "joy and goats".
- 三阳开泰sānyángkāitàispring returns, good fortune beginsIn a Goat year it becomes 三羊开泰, "three goats bring good fortune", and is drawn as three goats.
The pun in 喜气洋洋 is easy: 洋 and 羊 are both yáng, so swapping one for the other changes the writing, not the sound. A famous Chinese cartoon goat is even named after it: 喜羊羊 Xǐ Yángyáng, Pleasant Goat.
三阳开泰 is older and cleverer. It comes from the Book of Changes, where 阳 yáng is the bright, active force of yin and yang. In the old calendar, yang was thought to come back one step a month after the winter solstice, and by the first month of the new year all three of its lines were back: winter is over, and the sign 泰 tài, "peace, prosperity", opens up. Because 阳 and 羊 sound identical, New Year art turned the three yang into three goats, and in a Goat year the phrase is written 三羊开泰.
Pair them with the everyday greeting: More wishes, and what to write in a card, are in Chinese New Year greetings.
How to say your sign in Chinese
- 我属羊。wǒshǔyángI'm a Goat (born in a Goat year).
- 你的生肖是什么？nǐdeshēngxiàoshìshénmeWhat's your Chinese zodiac sign?
- 生肖一共有十二个。shēngxiàoyígòngyǒushí’èrgèThere are twelve zodiac animals in all.
Two words do the work here: , the animal of your year, and the verb , literally "to belong to". So 我属羊 is "I belong to the Goat". People ask it to place your age without asking it outright, and a Goat who meets another Goat knows they're a multiple of twelve years apart: twelve exactly is 一轮 yì lún, "one round".
Goat personality in Chinese tradition
Folk tradition paints the Goat as the gentle one of the twelve: calm, artistic, happiest in a peaceful home, and sometimes a worrier who finds it hard to decide. In Chinese you'd call that and . Take it as tradition, not as a description of anyone you know.
The element changes every two years, so each Goat year has its own: Wood Goat, 乙未 (1955 and 2015); Fire Goat, 丁未 (1967 and 2027); Earth Goat, 己未 (1979 and 2039); Metal Goat, 辛未 (1931 and 1991); Water Goat, 癸未 (1943 and 2003). 2027 is a Fire Goat year, right after the Fire Horse: Fire covers two years in a row.
Goat compatibility
In Chinese tradition the Goat gets on best with the Pig and the Rabbit: the animals four years apart form a trine, 三合 sānhé, and these three are the "wood" trine. The clash, 六冲 liùchōng, is with the Ox, six years away, on the opposite side of the circle.
2027 is the Goat's 本命年
本命年 běnmìngnián is the year of your own animal, and folk belief holds it's a year to be careful in. The remedy is the color : red socks, red underwear, a red string around the wrist, often a gift from family. If you were born in 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, your 本命年 starts on February 6, 2027.
The 12 Chinese zodiac animals
Find any year in the Chinese zodiac chart. The holiday that opens the Goat year, its date and customs, is in Chinese New Year.
Learn to say 羊年大吉 yourself
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