Chinese zodiac 2042
Year of the Water Dog
22 January 2042 to 9 February 2043
Born in 2042? Your sign depends on the day
The animal changes at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. In 2042 it falls on 22 January 2042.
- 22 January to 31 December 2042
- 🐕 Water Dog
- and on to 9 Feb 2043
Check an exact birth date
The Water Dog at a glance
Animal
🐕 Dog
Said to be loyal, honest, protective.
Element
水 Yang Water
Linked with wisdom and flexibility. Each element rules two years in a row.
Length
384 days
A long year: the calendar adds a thirteenth, leap month.
Other Dog years
The 60-year cycle
Animal and element line up again only every 60 years. The Water Dog years nearest to this one are 1982 and 2102.
Who gets on with the Dog
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 Dog 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.