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Zodiac 10 of 12 · Rooster (酉)

The Rooster (酉) — yin Metal, years 1909 to 2041

The Rooster is the branch 酉 (You (Rooster)): yin Metal, direction West, the 8th month (beginning at White Dew), the hour 17:00–19:00. This page is that branch's calendar view — which Gregorian years belong to it, the minute each one begins, and which animals stand in a defined relation to it. For the branch as a position inside a chart — hidden stems, the ten-stem stage table, the five pillars containing it — see the branch page.

Computed facts (engine-verified)

Generated from engine v0.14.0, not hand-written; years and lichun instants come from the engine's lichun table.

AnimalRooster 鸡
Branch You (Rooster) · position 10 of 12
Polarity & elementyin Metal (金)
Direction / seasonWest (西) · Autumn
Month8th month · begins at White Dew (白露)
Hour17:00–19:00
Hidden stems Xin Yin Metal (main, 金)
Six break Rat

The years that belong to this animal

Each animal recurs twelve times across 144 years, once every twelve. The table gives the most recent cycles with the year pillar and the exact lichun instant (Beijing time) at which each year begins — so "after which date is someone born a Rooster" is checkable to the minute.

YearYear pillarLichun (Beijing time)Age in 2027
1957丁酉 (Ding You)1957-02-04 09:5470
1969己酉 (Ji You)1969-02-04 07:5858
1981辛酉 (Xin You)1981-02-04 05:5546
1993癸酉 (Gui You)1993-02-04 03:3734
2005乙酉 (Yi You)2005-02-04 01:4322
2017丁酉 (Ding You)2017-02-03 23:3410

The next one is 2029 (己酉, Ji You), beginning at lichun on 2029-02-03 21:20.

Every year, 1900–2043

1909 · 1921 · 1933 · 1945 · 1957 · 1969 · 1981 · 1993 · 2005 · 2017 · 2029 · 2041

The year turns at lichun, not at New Year

This siteThe year pillar and the animal change at the instant of lichun, the moment the sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude. It falls on 3–5 February and is known to the minute.
Most zodiac sitesChange the animal at the lunar new year (the second new moon after the winter solstice). The two conventions disagree for anyone born between 1 January and lichun, and again between lichun and the lunar new year.
ConsequenceSomeone born before lichun on 2026-02-04 still carries the previous year's pillar. If your birthday falls in January or February, use the exact instant rather than the year.

The years this animal offends the year branch

Fan tai sui ("offending the year") is one of five fixed table relations between an animal and the year branch — own year, clash, punishment, harm, break — and they can stack. This site computes them from those tables, does not read them as fortune, and sells no remedy. Every year between 1924 and 2043 is listed below.

YearYear pillarRelation to the year branch
1924甲子 (Jia Zi)破太岁 Break
1927丁卯 (Ding Mao)冲太岁 Clash
1933癸酉 (Gui You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
1934甲戌 (Jia Xu)害太岁 Harm
1936丙子 (Bing Zi)破太岁 Break
1939己卯 (Ji Mao)冲太岁 Clash
1945乙酉 (Yi You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
1946丙戌 (Bing Xu)害太岁 Harm
1948戊子 (Wu Zi)破太岁 Break
1951辛卯 (Xin Mao)冲太岁 Clash
1957丁酉 (Ding You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
1958戊戌 (Wu Xu)害太岁 Harm
1960庚子 (Geng Zi)破太岁 Break
1963癸卯 (Gui Mao)冲太岁 Clash
1969己酉 (Ji You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
1970庚戌 (Geng Xu)害太岁 Harm
1972壬子 (Ren Zi)破太岁 Break
1975乙卯 (Yi Mao)冲太岁 Clash
1981辛酉 (Xin You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
1982壬戌 (Ren Xu)害太岁 Harm
1984甲子 (Jia Zi)破太岁 Break
1987丁卯 (Ding Mao)冲太岁 Clash
1993癸酉 (Gui You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
1994甲戌 (Jia Xu)害太岁 Harm
1996丙子 (Bing Zi)破太岁 Break
1999己卯 (Ji Mao)冲太岁 Clash
2005乙酉 (Yi You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
2006丙戌 (Bing Xu)害太岁 Harm
2008戊子 (Wu Zi)破太岁 Break
2011辛卯 (Xin Mao)冲太岁 Clash
2017丁酉 (Ding You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
2018戊戌 (Wu Xu)害太岁 Harm
2020庚子 (Geng Zi)破太岁 Break
2023癸卯 (Gui Mao)冲太岁 Clash
2029己酉 (Ji You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
2030庚戌 (Geng Xu)害太岁 Harm
2032壬子 (Ren Zi)破太岁 Break
2035乙卯 (Yi Mao)冲太岁 Clash
2041辛酉 (Xin You)值太岁 Own year + 刑太岁 Punishment
2042壬戌 (Ren Xu)害太岁 Harm

How this animal relates to the others

All seven relations are fixed tables and every one can be checked against the index page.

Six harmony Dragon — combines into Metal
Clash Rabbit
Harm Dog
Break Rat
PunishmentSelf-punishment (one of Chen, Wu, You, Hai)
TrineMetal: Snake Rooster Ox
MeetingWest Metal: Monkey Rooster Dog

Break is one of the traditional fixed tables, structurally the same kind of statement as harm or clash. It is printed from the table with no fortune reading attached.

This animal as a position

The animal and the branch are one character used two ways: as an animal it governs years, as a branch it governs positions. The hidden stems, month, hour, ten-stem stage table and the five pillars containing it are all on the branch page.

Open the Rooster (酉) branch page →

See how the Rooster relates to 2027 (Ding Wei) →

What this page deliberately does not do. The zodiac is the one part of this system that the popular market has turned into a horoscope: a fixed personality per animal, a fortune per year, and a lucky charm sold to fix the year that clashes with yours. This site publishes none of that. What is here is a calendar relation: which Gregorian years belong to this animal, the exact minute each of those years begins, and which animal-branches stand in a defined relation to it. Those relations are fixed tables — the same six-harmony, clash, harm and break tables used everywhere else on this site — and not one of them carries a fortune score. In particular, "offending the year" (fan tai sui) is a structural fact, not a curse, and this site sells no remedy for it.

Frequently asked

Which years are Rooster years?
1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041. Each animal recurs every twelve years, counted from that year's lichun. The most recent is 2017 (丁酉, Ding You), with lichun at 2017-02-03 23:34.
What if I was born around lichun?
The animal changes at the instant of lichun. In 2026, lichun falls at 2026-02-04 04:02; born before that instant and your year pillar still belongs to 2025. The two conventions (lichun versus lunar new year) disagree for January and early-February birthdays. This site uses lichun.
Which years does the Rooster offend the year branch?
Between 1924 and 2043 there are 40: 1924 (Break); 1927 (Clash); 1933 (Own year + Punishment); 1934 (Harm); 1936 (Break); 1939 (Clash); 1945 (Own year + Punishment); 1946 (Harm); 1948 (Break); 1951 (Clash); 1957 (Own year + Punishment); 1958 (Harm); 1960 (Break); 1963 (Clash); 1969 (Own year + Punishment); 1970 (Harm); 1972 (Break); 1975 (Clash); 1981 (Own year + Punishment); 1982 (Harm); 1984 (Break); 1987 (Clash); 1993 (Own year + Punishment); 1994 (Harm); 1996 (Break); 1999 (Clash); 2005 (Own year + Punishment); 2006 (Harm); 2008 (Break); 2011 (Clash); 2017 (Own year + Punishment); 2018 (Harm); 2020 (Break); 2023 (Clash); 2029 (Own year + Punishment); 2030 (Harm); 2032 (Break); 2035 (Clash); 2041 (Own year + Punishment); 2042 (Harm).
What is the Rooster personality?
This site does not assign a personality to an animal. The animal is the everyday name of a year branch — a structural position (yin Metal, hidden stems Xin) rather than a character label. The same animal reads differently under a different month command and inside a whole chart; any source that fixes a character to an animal is claiming more than the system does.

Nearby animals

Monkey ←  ·  → Dog

Reference index

Every enumerable component of ba zi has its own page here. Each page is computed by the same engine and can be checked item by item — none of it is a personality table.