Chinese zodiac 1973
Year of the Water Ox
3 February 1973 to 22 January 1974
Born in 1973? Your sign depends on the day
The animal changes at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. In 1973 it falls on 3 February 1973.
- 3 February to 31 December 1973
- π Water Ox
- and on to 22 Jan 1974
Check an exact birth date
The Water Ox at a glance
Animal
π Ox
Said to be steady, hard-working, dependable.
Element
ζ°΄ Yin Water
Linked with wisdom and flexibility. Each element rules two years in a row.
Length
354 days
A regular year of twelve lunar months.
Other Ox years
The 60-year cycle
Animal and element line up again only every 60 years. The Water Ox years nearest to this one are 1913 and 2033.
Who gets on with the Ox
Allies
Four years apart. The three animals of a trine are said to share a temperament.
Secret friend
One of six fixed pairs said to complement each other.
Opposite
Six years apart, directly across the wheel. Tradition calls this the hardest pairing.
Friction
One of six fixed pairs said to rub each other the wrong way.
Bonds come from each animal's position among the twelve, as tradition sets them. They describe the Ox sign in general, not any one person.
Dates are computed estimates from the Hong Kong Observatory's calendar tables, counted in China's time zone. Some traditions change the animal at the start of spring (around 4 February) instead of at Lunar New Year.