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1946 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Dog
1946 is the year of the Fire Dog, 丙戌: from Chinese New Year on 2 February 1946 to 21 January 1947.
Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
The Fire Dog
Element
Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Fire Dog came last in 1886 and returns in 2006. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 屋上土.
Company
The Dog shares a trine with the Tiger and the Horse; its secret friend is the Rabbit. Those signs are said to find a Dog year easiest. Dogs guard the home in both the real and the spirit world; stone and paper dogs stand at old gates.
Years of the Dog
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1934Wood Dog, from 14 February 1934
- 1946Fire Dog, from 2 February 1946
- 1958Earth Dog, from 18 February 1958
- 1970Metal Dog, from 6 February 1970
- 1982Water Dog, from 25 January 1982
- 1994Wood Dog, from 10 February 1994
- 2006Fire Dog, from 29 January 2006
- 2018Earth Dog, from 16 February 2018
- 2030Metal Dog, from 3 February 2030
- 2042Water Dog, from 22 January 2042
Born in 1946?
Between 2 February 1946 and 21 January 1947 you are a Fire Dog.
Anyone born from 2 February 1946 to 21 January 1947 is a Fire Dog (丙戌) and turns 80 in 2026. Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Fire years favour energy and visibility: bold moves, warm company, the spotlight.
Born in January or early February 1946, before the 2 February 1946 new year? Then the previous animal, the Rooster, is yours: the zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January. The zodiac calculator settles it from the exact date.
Your zodiac years (本命年, when the Dog comes round again) are 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042, 2054; the next one is 2030. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Dog best are the Tiger, the Horse and the Rabbit: the compatibility table has every pair.
Questions
What is the Chinese zodiac for 1946?
1946 is the Year of the Fire Dog. Anyone born from 2 February 1946 to 21 January 1947 is a Dog; a birthday earlier in 1946, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Rooster.
When does the Year of the Dog 1946 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 2 February 1946, and ends on 21 January 1947, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Dog in 1946?
Fire (火), from the heavenly stem 丙. Fire years are associated with warmth and drive: summer, lanterns, the hearth.
Is a baby born in January 1946 a Dog?
No. A baby born before 2 February 1946 belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Fire Dog years?
2006. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Dog in ink
The Dog painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
Make the poster
Enter your birthday; we set the animal, the element, the lunar date and your name, and add a Chinese name as a seal if you have one.
Start with my birthdayMore about the animal: Year of the Dog. All twelve: the zodiac.