Year of the Rooster: the Chinese zodiac sign and the character 鸡

October 21, 2026 · 7 min read

The Rooster is the tenth of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. It comes after the Monkey and before the Dog. The Rooster years of the last century or so are 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029. The next one is 2029.

One thing trips people up every time: a zodiac year doesn't begin on January 1. It begins on Chinese New Year, which moves around between late January and mid February. So the last Rooster year, 2017, actually ran from January 28, 2017 to February 15, 2018.

Years of the Rooster

Here is every Rooster year from 1924 to 2043, with the exact first and last day and the element of each year:

Rooster in Chinese: the character 鸡

The zodiac character is 鸡, read 鸡 jī — chicken; the Rooster of the zodiac. The pinyin j is close to the "j" in "jeep", only softer, with the tip of the tongue resting behind the lower teeth. The vowel is a clean "ee", and the tone is the first one: high and level, as if you were holding a note. So jī sounds roughly like a long, flat "jee".

Here's the surprise: in everyday Chinese 鸡 doesn't mean "rooster". It means "chicken", the bird in general. A rooster is 公鸡 gōngjī, "male chicken", and a hen is 母鸡 mǔjī. The zodiac simply uses 鸡, which is why some English sources call this sign the Chicken. In Chinese there's no debate at all: it's 鸡年 jī nián, the chicken year, and the picture on the New Year posters is a proud rooster.

The character is easy to take apart: on the right is 鸟 niǎo, "bird", and on the left 又, a simplified shape that replaced a more complex one in the traditional form 雞. You'll meet 鸡 very early, because of the egg: 鸡蛋 jīdàn is literally "chicken egg", and it's the normal word for any egg you'd buy or eat.

In the cycle of the twelve earthly branches the Rooster's sign is 酉 yǒu. The branches once named the two-hour periods of the day too, and 酉时 was the early evening, from 5 to 7 pm. The old shape of 酉 is a wine jar, and you can still see it inside 酒 jiǔ, "alcohol".

Words and idioms with 鸡

Tap a card to hear it. The ones without a speaker don't have a recording yet.

• 鸡jīchickenthe zodiac Rooster
• 公鸡gōngjīroosterliterally "male chicken"
• 母鸡mǔjīhen
• 小鸡xiǎojīchick
• 鸡蛋jīdàneggliterally "chicken egg"
• 鸡肉jīròuchicken (the meat)
• 宫保鸡丁gōngbǎojīdīngKung Pao chicken
• 鸡尾酒jīwěijiǔcocktailliterally "chicken-tail wine"

And four set expressions that Chinese speakers really use:

• 闻鸡起舞wénjīqǐwǔto get up at the rooster's crow and practiceabout someone who works hard from dawn
• 鹤立鸡群hèlìjīqúna crane standing among chickenssomeone who clearly stands out
• 鸡毛蒜皮jīmáosuànpíchicken feathers and garlic skinstrifles, petty little things
• 杀鸡儆猴shājījǐnghóukill the chicken to scare the monkeypunish one person as a warning to others

The egg also gives you some easy everyday sentences:

• 我最喜欢吃番茄炒鸡蛋。wǒzuìxǐhuanchīfānqiéchǎojīdànMy favorite dish is tomato and egg stir-fry.
• 早饭我吃面包和鸡蛋。zǎofànwǒchīmiànbāohéjīdànFor breakfast I have bread and eggs.
• 你们想吃鸡肉还是牛肉？nǐmenxiǎngchījīròuháishiniúròuWould you like chicken or beef?

Tomato and egg stir-fry is the dish almost every Chinese family cooks at home. More food words are in Food in Chinese.

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

Chinese doesn't say "my sign is…". It uses the verb 属 shǔ — to belong to; to be born in the year of followed by the animal in one syllable:

• 我属鸡。wǒshǔjīI'm a Rooster.
• 你属什么？nǐshǔshénmeWhat's your zodiac animal?
• 你的生肖是什么？nǐdeshēngxiàoshìshénmeWhat's your zodiac sign?
• 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 itself is 鸡年 jī nián, "the Year of the Rooster", and the zodiac as a whole is 生肖 shēngxiào — zodiac animal. Don't be surprised if someone in China asks 你属什么？ soon after meeting you. Your animal gives away your age to within twelve years, and it's a gentler question than "how old are you?". A twelve-year gap has its own word, 一轮 yì lún, "one round".

Rooster personality in Chinese tradition

The rooster crows at dawn, and that sets the tone for everything said about the sign. According to folk tradition, people born in a Rooster year are hard-working and punctual, observant, neat, confident and honest to the point of bluntness. The less flattering side of the same picture: a Rooster is said to like being noticed and to be quick to point out other people's mistakes. Take it the way Chinese people mostly do, as a bit of fun at the dinner table, not as a description of anyone.

• 勤奋qínfènhard-working
• 准时zhǔnshípunctual
• 自信zìxìnself-confident
• 认真rènzhēnconscientious, serious

Each Rooster year also has one of the five elements, which repeat in a sixty-year cycle: Metal Rooster (1981), Water Rooster (1993), Wood Rooster (2005), Fire Rooster (2017), Earth Rooster (2029). In traditional lore the element colors the sign a little: Fire is said to add energy, Earth steadiness, Metal firmness, Water flexibility and Wood generosity. You'll find your own element in the table above.

Rooster compatibility

In Chinese tradition the best matches for the Rooster are the Ox (牛) and the Snake (蛇). Together with the Rooster they form one of the four "triangles" of the zodiac, 三合 sānhé, animals four years apart. The sign that clashes with the Rooster is the one directly opposite it on the circle, the Rabbit (兔): the pair is called 六冲 liùchōng, "the six clashes". Older relatives may still bring it up before a wedding; most couples simply laugh about it.

2029: the next year of the Rooster

The year of your own animal is called 本命年 běnmìngnián. Tradition says it's a slightly unlucky, unsettled year, and the remedy is red: red socks, a red belt or a red string around the wrist, often a gift from family. For everyone born in a Rooster year the next one is 2029, from February 13, 2029 to February 2, 2030. The same red, by the way, is the color of the 红包 hóngbāo — red envelope with money handed out 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

All the years on one page, plus how the traditional calendar works, are in the Chinese zodiac years chart. How the holiday itself is celebrated is in Chinese New Year, and what to say to friends is in Chinese New Year greetings.