Year of the Horse: the Chinese zodiac Horse and 马 in Chinese

October 21, 2026 · 8 min read

The Horse, 马 mǎ, is the seventh of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac: it comes after the Snake and before the Goat. Horse years come round every twelve years: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026.

And the Horse is the animal of right now. 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, 丙午 in Chinese. It began on February 17, 2026 and ends on February 5, 2027; the next day, February 6, 2027, the Year of the Goat begins.

Those dates are the first thing to know about the zodiac: a zodiac year doesn't start on January 1. It starts on Chinese New Year, which follows the moon and lands somewhere between late January and mid-February. Below are all the Horse years with their exact dates, then the part most horoscope sites skip: the Chinese. How 马 is said, the everyday words built on it, the New Year wishes for a Horse year and how to tell someone "I'm a Horse" in Chinese.

Years of the Horse

The Horse in Chinese: 马 mǎ

马 started out as a drawing of a horse: a head with a mane, a body and legs. The traditional form, 馬, still shows the legs and tail as four dots at the bottom; the simplified 马 is down to three strokes. Unlike some zodiac animals, the horse has no longer everyday name: the zodiac sign and the animal in the field are both simply 马 mǎ — horse.

Say it with the third tone: start low, dip lower and come back up, a little like a doubtful "ma...?" said slowly. Inside a sentence, you mostly just keep it low. The tone matters, because the same syllable with other tones is a different word. This is the set every Chinese teacher uses to show it:

• 妈māmomfirst tone: high and level
• 麻máhemp; numbsecond tone: rising
• 马mǎhorsethird tone: low, dipping
• 骂màto scoldfourth tone: falling

Put them together and you get a tongue twister children love, 妈妈骑马，马慢，妈妈骂马 māma qí mǎ, mǎ màn, māma mà mǎ: "Mom rides a horse, the horse is slow, Mom scolds the horse." Notice that 马 sits inside 妈 and 骂: as part of another character it hints at the sound. Horses aren't counted with the general 个 but with a measure word of their own, 匹 pǐ — measure word for horses: 草地上有两匹马。 cǎodìshangyǒuliǎngpǐmǎ — There are two horses on the grass.

In the old system of counting years, every animal also has an "earthly branch". The Horse's is 午 wǔ. It also marks the two hours around midday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. That's why 午 turns up in 中午 zhōngwǔ — noon, and why you say 上午 shàngwǔ — morning and 下午 xiàwǔ — afternoon: "before the Horse" and "after the Horse".

Chinese words and idioms with 马

The horse runs all through everyday Chinese, often where you'd never guess it. Tap a word to hear it:

• 马上mǎshàngright away, at onceliterally "on horseback": as fast as a rider
• 马路mǎlùstreet, roadliterally "horse road"
• 马虎mǎhucareless, sloppyliterally "horse tiger"
• 马马虎虎mǎmahūhūso-so
• 骑马qímǎto ride a horse
• 斑马bānmǎzebraa "striped horse"
• 河马hémǎhippoa "river horse", just like the Greek
• 马年mǎniánthe Year of the Horse

The one you'll use daily is 马上 mǎshàng — right away. It's what a waiter says when you call him and what a friend texts when she's late. And 马马虎虎, "horse horse tiger tiger", is the classic answer to "how are you?" when things are only so-so.

• 我马上就到。wǒmǎshàngjiùdàoI'll be right there.
• 请稍等，我马上来。qǐngshāoděng,wǒmǎshàngláiOne moment, I'm coming.
• 过马路要看红绿灯。guòmǎlùyàokànhónglǜdēngWatch the traffic lights when you cross the street.
• 这件事不能马虎。zhèjiànshìbùnéngmǎhuYou can't be careless about this.
• 你骑过马吗？nǐqíguomǎmaHave you ever ridden a horse?

In a Horse year, two four-character idioms are everywhere: on New Year cards, in office chats, in red couplets on doors. A third is a classic wish for older relatives.

• 一马当先yìmǎdāngxiānto take the leadliterally "one horse charges out in front". As a wish: may you be first in everything this year.
• 马到成功mǎdàochénggōnginstant successliterally "success as soon as the horse arrives". Said before an exam, a new job, a big project.
• 龙马精神lóngmǎjīngshénthe vigor of a dragon-horsea wish for energy and good health, especially to grandparents

One more horse saying has a whole story behind it: the old man at the frontier who lost his horse, 塞翁失马. It's in Chinese proverbs and idioms.

How to say "I'm a Horse" in Chinese

Chinese has a verb just for this: 属 shǔ — to be born in the year of, literally "to belong to". The animal follows it, in one syllable:

• 我属马。wǒshǔmǎI'm a Horse (born in a Horse year).
• 你属什么？nǐshǔshénmeWhat's your zodiac sign?
• 他是马年出生的。tāshìmǎniánchūshēngdeHe was born in the Year of the Horse.

You'll hear 你属什么？ a lot in China, and it isn't small talk about horoscopes: the answer tells the other person your age to within twelve years, and it's more polite than asking straight out. If you're both Horses, the gap is a multiple of twelve; twelve years exactly is 一轮 yì lún, "one round" of the zodiac.

Horse personality in Chinese tradition

By tradition, people born in a Horse year are said to be energetic and independent, quick to start things and not always patient enough to finish them. Two words sum the Horse up: 自由 zìyóu — freedom and 热情 rèqíng — warm, enthusiastic. It's folklore, like the traits of any sign, but it's folklore Chinese people know and joke about.

Each Horse year also has one of the five elements, and the element changes the name of the year: Wood Horse, 甲午 (1954 and 2014); Fire Horse, 丙午 (1966 and 2026); Earth Horse, 戊午 (1978 and 2038); Metal Horse, 庚午 (1930 and 1990); Water Horse, 壬午 (1942 and 2002). The Fire Horse gets the most attention. In Japan an old superstition about women born in a Fire Horse year was strong enough that noticeably fewer babies were born there in 1966. In China a Fire Horse year gets the same wishes and red decorations as any other.

Horse compatibility

In Chinese tradition, the Horse's best matches are the Dog and the Tiger. Animals four years apart form a trine, 三合 sānhé, and these three make the "fire" trine. The clash, 六冲 liùchōng, is with the Rat, the animal directly across the circle, six years away. Plenty of happy couples ignore all this; it's still the first thing a Chinese grandmother may check.

Your 本命年: the Horse's own year

The year of your own animal is your 本命年 běnmìngnián. Folk belief says it's a tricky year, so people protect themselves with red: red socks or underwear, or a red string on the wrist, because the color of luck is 红色 hóngsè — red. For everyone born in 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, the 本命年 is 2026, until February 5, 2027. The next one is 2038.

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

All the years on one page: the Chinese zodiac chart. How the New Year that starts each animal's year is celebrated is in Chinese New Year, and what to say on the day in Chinese New Year greetings.