Year of the Rooster
The rooster (鸡, jī) is the tenth animal in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle. Recent rooster years include 1981, 1993, 2005 and 2017; the most recent ran from Jan 28, 2017 to Feb 15, 2018, and the next begins on Feb 13, 2029. A rooster year runs from Chinese New Year to the eve of the following one — it never aligns with January 1.
Exact rooster year dates
Each rooster year starts on Chinese New Year and ends the day before the next Chinese New Year.
| rooster year | Gregorian date range |
|---|---|
| 1945 | Feb 13, 1945 – Feb 1, 1946 |
| 1957 | Jan 31, 1957 – Feb 17, 1958 |
| 1969 | Feb 17, 1969 – Feb 5, 1970 |
| 1981 | Feb 5, 1981 – Jan 24, 1982 |
| 1993 | Jan 23, 1993 – Feb 9, 1994 |
| 2005 | Feb 9, 2005 – Jan 28, 2006 |
| 2017 | Jan 28, 2017 – Feb 15, 2018 |
Born in January or February? Check the boundary
The 2017 rooster year began on Jan 28, 2017: anyone born between January 1, 2017 and Jan 27, 2017 is a monkey, not a rooster. In the other direction, babies born between January 1, 2018 and Feb 15, 2018 are still roosters rather than dogs. Any January or early-February birthday needs the exact Chinese New Year date from the table above, not the calendar year.
This site uses the Chinese New Year boundary convention — read how the zodiac year boundary works on the calculator page.
Am I a rooster?
Enter your full birth date and the calculator will apply the exact Chinese New Year boundary for your birth year.
Check my zodiac animalThe rooster in Chinese culture
Before clocks, the rooster was the country's alarm: its dawn crowing marked the start of the working day, which made it a symbol of punctuality, diligence and the drive to begin. The phrase 金鸡 ("golden rooster") carries auspicious weight — it survives today in the name of China's top film awards — and a crowing rooster on a New Year print announces that dawn, and better times, are coming.
The most famous rooster story is 闻鸡起舞: the fourth-century general Zu Ti rose at the first cockcrow every day to practice swordplay, turning an early alarm into a byword for self-discipline. People born in rooster years are traditionally described as observant, hardworking and confident — these are cultural beliefs about the sign, not facts about any individual.
Rooster idioms (成语) featuring 鸡
闻鸡起舞 wén jī qǐ wǔ
Literally: hear the rooster, rise and dance [with swords].
to discipline oneself with daily early practice; from General Zu Ti, who trained at cockcrow.
鹤立鸡群 hè lì jī qún
Literally: a crane standing among chickens.
someone who plainly stands out from the crowd.
呆若木鸡 dāi ruò mù jī
Literally: dumb as a wooden chicken.
today it means dumbstruck with shock — but in the original fable, a fighting cock trained to wooden stillness was the unbeatable one, so the phrase began as praise for perfect calm.
Year of the Rooster FAQ
Was 2017 the year of the rooster?
Yes, from Jan 28, 2017. The rooster year ran from Jan 28, 2017 to Feb 15, 2018. Anyone born in January 2017, before Chinese New Year, is a monkey rather than a rooster.
I was born in January 2017 — am I a rooster or a monkey?
A monkey. Chinese New Year 2017 fell on Jan 28, 2017, so the whole of January 2017 still belongs to the monkey year. Only birthdays on or after Jan 28, 2017 are rooster birthdays.
When is the next year of the rooster?
The next rooster year is 2029, beginning on Chinese New Year, Feb 13, 2029, and running until Feb 2, 2030. Rooster years repeat every 12 years: 1981, 1993, 2005 and 2017.
What does the rooster represent in Chinese culture?
Punctuality and drive. The rooster's dawn crowing ordered the working day, and the story 闻鸡起舞 — General Zu Ti rising at cockcrow to train — made it a symbol of self-discipline. The 金鸡 ("golden rooster") remains an auspicious image.