Year of the Pig: the last Chinese zodiac sign and the character 猪

October 21, 2026 · 7 min read

The Pig is the last of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, number 12. It follows the Dog, and after it the cycle starts over with the Rat. Pig years include 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, and the next one is 2031.

Being last is no insult. In China the Pig stands for plenty: a well-fed pig meant a farming family had had a good year. And like every zodiac year, a Pig year doesn't start on January 1 but on Chinese New Year, which falls between late January and mid February. The most recent one, 2019, began on February 5, 2019 and ended on January 24, 2020.

Years of the Pig

The full list from 1924 to 2043, with exact start and end dates and the element of each year:

Pig in Chinese: 猪 zhū

The character is 猪, 猪 zhū — pig, the everyday word as well as the zodiac sign. Say it roughly like "joo", but curl the tip of your tongue back toward the roof of your mouth for the zh, and keep the pitch high and level: it's a first tone. The u is the "oo" of "food".

On the left of 猪 is 犭, the "animal" radical you also find in 狗 gǒu, "dog", and 猫 māo, "cat"; on the right, 者 zhě, which gives a hint of the sound. The ancient word for pig was a different character, 豕 shǐ, and it hides inside one of the most common characters there is: 家 jiā — home, family. The classic explanation: a roof, 宀, with a pig underneath. A home was a place where you kept animals.

The Pig's earthly branch is 亥 hài, the last of the twelve. As a time of day, 亥时 is 9 to 11 at night, the end of the day just as the Pig is the end of the cycle. In Japan the same branch belongs to a different animal: the twelfth sign there is the wild boar, 野猪 yězhū in Chinese.

Words with 猪

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

• 猪zhūpig
• 小猪xiǎozhūpiglet
• 猪肉zhūròupork
• 猪年zhūniánthe Year of the Pig
• 野猪yězhūwild boar
• 金猪jīnzhūgolden piga symbol of wealth
• 猪八戒ZhūBājièZhu Bajie, "Pigsy"from Journey to the West
• 小猪佩奇XiǎozhūPèiqíPeppa Pig

Pork is the meat of Chinese cooking. On a menu or in a recipe, 肉 ròu, "meat", with nothing in front of it usually means pork. Zhu Bajie, the greedy, lazy and lovable pig from the classic novel Journey to the West, is one of the best-known characters in Chinese culture; every child knows him from cartoons. And Peppa Pig, translated literally as "little pig Peppa", is a big hit in China too.

Two sentences from farm life, with recordings:

• 爷爷养了很多猪。yéyeyǎnglehěnduōzhūGrandpa raised a lot of pigs.
• 奶奶每天早上喂鸭子和猪。nǎinaiměitiānzǎoshangwèiyāzihézhūEvery morning Grandma feeds the ducks and the pigs.

猪 as a tease

Between friends, couples and siblings, 猪 is a very common, very gentle tease, a bit like "silly" or "lazybones" in English. Nobody takes offense when it's said with a smile:

• 笨猪bènzhūsilly pig, dummyfrom 笨 bèn, "slow-witted"
• 懒猪lǎnzhūlazybonesfrom 懒 lǎn, "lazy"
• 懒猪，起床了！lǎnzhū,qǐchuángleGet up, lazybones!

The tone is everything here. To a friend who overslept, 懒猪 is affectionate; said coldly to a stranger, it would be rude. If you're just starting out, enjoy hearing it and keep it for people who know you well.

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

Funnily enough, "I'm a Pig" is a perfectly normal sentence in Chinese, because it's built with the verb 属 shǔ — to be born in the year of, "to belong to". Nobody hears it as a joke:

• 我属猪。wǒshǔzhūI'm a Pig (born in a Pig year).
• 你属什么？nǐshǔshénmeWhat's your zodiac animal?
• 生肖一共有十二个。shēngxiàoyígòngyǒushí’èrgeThere are twelve zodiac animals in all.
• 他比我大一轮，我们都属牛。tābǐwǒdàyìlún,wǒmendōushǔniúHe's twelve years older than me; we're both Oxen.

The year is 猪年 zhū nián. Expect the question 你属什么？ in China: people use it to work out your age without asking directly, and two people with the same animal are a whole number of 一轮 yì lún, twelve-year "rounds", apart.

Pig personality in Chinese tradition

Folk tradition is kind to the Pig. People born in a Pig year are said to be good-natured, generous, honest and easy to get along with: they enjoy good food and good company and don't hold grudges. The flip side, according to the same tradition, is that they can be too trusting and a bit too fond of comfort. It's folklore, best enjoyed with a pinch of salt.

• 善良shànliángkind-hearted
• 大方dàfanggenerous
• 乐观lèguānoptimistic
• 享受xiǎngshòuto enjoy (life, food)

The element changes from one Pig year to the next in a sixty-year cycle: Water Pig (1983), Wood Pig (1995), Fire Pig (2007), Earth Pig (2019), Metal Pig (2031). Traditional lore links each element with a shade of character: Fire with energy, Earth with steadiness, Metal with firmness, Water with flexibility, Wood with generosity. The 2007 Pig year (Fire, 丁亥) was widely called a "golden pig" year, 金猪年, and was considered especially lucky for having a baby.

Pig compatibility

In Chinese tradition the Pig's natural allies are the Rabbit (兔) and the Goat (羊). The three signs, four years apart, form one of the zodiac's 三合 sānhé trines. The Pig's traditional clash, 六冲 liùchōng, is with the Snake (蛇), its opposite on the circle. These pairings come up in horoscope columns and at family dinners; very few people choose a partner by them.

2031: the next běnmìngnián for Pigs

Every twelve years your own animal comes back. That year is your 本命年 běnmìngnián, and tradition says it brings a little bad luck, kept away with something red: socks, a belt, a red string on the wrist. For Pigs the next one is 2031, from January 23, 2031 to February 10, 2032. Its stem-branch name is 辛亥, the same as 1911, the year of the revolution that ended China's last empire and is still known by that name. Red is also the color of 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

The Pig closes the circle, and the next year belongs to the Rat again. Every animal's years are in the Chinese zodiac years chart, the holiday itself in Chinese New Year, and what to say on the day in Chinese New Year greetings.