🐯 Korean Zodiac Calculator
Find your Korean zodiac animal, element, lucky color, and compatibility from your birth year.
Your Details
Your Korean zodiac animal is set by your birth year — but the year turns at Ipchun (立春, ~Feb 4), not Jan 1.
Enter your date of birth to find your Korean zodiac sign. 🐯
How this calculator works
- The animal comes from your birth year (twelve Earthly Branches); the element from the year’s Heavenly Stem.
- The zodiac year turns at Ipchun (立春, ~Feb 4), so births before it use the previous year’s animal.
- Ipchun is approximated as Feb 4; births within a day of it may differ from a precise almanac.
- All calculation runs in your browser — no data is sent to or stored on a server.
- A cultural tradition shared for fun and interest, not a scientific or predictive tool.
The 12 Korean Zodiac Animals
The Korean zodiac, called ddi (띠), assigns one of twelve animals to your birth year on a repeating 12-year cycle. In Korea it is part of everyday life — people often ask “what is your animal?” as a polite way to guess someone’s age. Each year also carries one of the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), which rotate every two years, producing combinations like a “Fire Horse” or a “Metal Rat.”
Note: years above are approximate calendar years. If you were born in January or early February (before Ipchun), your animal is the previous year’s — the calculator above handles this for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike Western astrology (which uses your birth month and day), the Korean zodiac (띠, ddi) is based on your birth YEAR on a repeating 12-year cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. A five-element layer (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) is added from the year, giving combinations like "Metal Horse".
In the Korean/East Asian system the zodiac year does not begin on January 1. It turns at Ipchun (立春), the solar term around February 4. If you were born before Ipchun, your zodiac animal is the previous calendar year's animal. Many simple calculators ignore this and are wrong for early-year births — this one applies it.
They share the same twelve animals in the same order, since the Korean system grew from the Chinese one. Names differ slightly (for example the eighth animal is consistently Sheep in Korea) and in Korea the zodiac is woven into daily life — it is often used as a polite way to ask someone's age, since the cycle repeats every 12 years.
Each year also carries one of five elements (오행) — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water — which traditionally suggests a lucky color and direction. Compatibility uses samhap (三合) harmony triangles for best matches and yukchung (六沖) for the clashing animal. It is a cultural tradition shared for fun, not a scientific prediction.