Year of the Goat
The goat (羊, yáng) is the eighth animal in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle. Recent goat years include 1979, 1991, 2003 and 2015, and the next one begins on Feb 6, 2027. English sources call this sign the goat, the sheep or the ram — all three translate the same Chinese word, 羊, explained below. Like every zodiac year, a goat year starts on Chinese New Year, not on January 1.
Exact goat year dates
Each goat year starts on Chinese New Year and ends the day before the next Chinese New Year.
| goat year | Gregorian date range |
|---|---|
| 1955 | Jan 24, 1955 – Feb 11, 1956 |
| 1967 | Feb 9, 1967 – Jan 29, 1968 |
| 1979 | Jan 28, 1979 – Feb 15, 1980 |
| 1991 | Feb 15, 1991 – Feb 3, 1992 |
| 2003 | Feb 1, 2003 – Jan 21, 2004 |
| 2015 | Feb 19, 2015 – Feb 7, 2016 |
| 2027(upcoming) | Feb 6, 2027 – Jan 25, 2028 |
Born in January or February? Check the boundary
If you were born between January 1, 2027 and Feb 5, 2027, you are a horse, not a goat: the horse year runs until the day before Chinese New Year 2027. The goat year only begins on Feb 6, 2027. The same applies to every row in the table above — a January or early-February birthday belongs to the previous animal unless it falls on or after that year's Chinese New Year.
This site uses the Chinese New Year boundary convention — read how the zodiac year boundary works on the calculator page.
Am I a goat?
Enter your full birth date and the calculator will apply the exact Chinese New Year boundary for your birth year.
Check my zodiac animalThe goat in Chinese culture
The goat has an auspicious pedigree in Chinese writing itself: the character 羊 sits inside 祥 (xiáng, "auspicious"), and in early bronze inscriptions 羊 was often used interchangeably with 祥, so the animal became a written stand-in for good fortune. Goats and sheep were also sacrificial animals in ancient ritual, which tied them to ideas of purity and offering.
Gentleness is the trait most often attached to the goat in folk tradition. A well-known saying, 羊有跪乳之恩 ("the lamb kneels to nurse"), takes a kneeling kid as an image of gratitude toward one's parents. People born in goat years are traditionally described as gentle, considerate and artistic — these are cultural beliefs about the sign, not facts about any individual.
Goat idioms (成语) featuring 羊
三羊开泰 sān yáng kāi tài
Literally: three goats open up prosperity.
a New Year wish for a turn toward good fortune; it is a pun on 三阳开泰, "three yang bring in the new season", so the goats stand in for yang energy.
亡羊补牢 wáng yáng bǔ láo
Literally: mend the pen after the sheep are lost.
it is never too late to fix a mistake; taking action after a loss still prevents further loss.
顺手牵羊 shùn shǒu qiān yáng
Literally: lead away a goat in passing.
to take something opportunistically while at it — usually with the negative sense of walking off with what is not yours.
Year of the Goat FAQ
Is 2027 the year of the goat?
Yes. The next goat year begins on Chinese New Year, Feb 6, 2027, and runs until Jan 25, 2028. Anyone born on or after Feb 6, 2027 is a goat; babies born earlier in 2027 are horses.
Is it the year of the goat, the sheep, or the ram?
All three English names point to the same sign. The Chinese word 羊 (yáng) covers goats, sheep and rams without telling them apart, so English translations disagree. This site uses "goat", but the character, the dates and the cultural meaning are identical whichever English word you prefer.
I was born in January 2027 — am I a goat or a horse?
A horse. Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Feb 6, 2027, so the horse year still covers January 1 through Feb 5, 2027. Only birthdays on or after Feb 6, 2027 belong to the goat.
Which years are years of the goat?
Recent goat years are 1979, 1991, 2003 and 2015, the next is 2027, and the cycle repeats every 12 years. Each goat year starts on its Chinese New Year date in January or February, not on January 1 — see the boundary table above for exact dates.