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1994 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Dog
1994 is the year of the Wood Dog, 甲戌: from Chinese New Year on 10 February 1994 to 30 January 1995.
Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
The Wood Dog
Element
Wood years are associated with growth and flexibility: spring, bamboo, new shoots. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Wood Dog came last in 1934 and returns in 2054. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 山头火.
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 1994?
Between 10 February 1994 and 30 January 1995 you are a Wood Dog.
Anyone born from 10 February 1994 to 30 January 1995 is a Wood Dog (甲戌) and turns 32 in 2026. Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
Born in January or early February 1994, before the 10 February 1994 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 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 1994?
1994 is the Year of the Wood Dog. Anyone born from 10 February 1994 to 30 January 1995 is a Dog; a birthday earlier in 1994, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Rooster.
When does the Year of the Dog 1994 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 10 February 1994, and ends on 30 January 1995, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Dog in 1994?
Wood (木), from the heavenly stem 甲. Wood years are associated with growth and flexibility: spring, bamboo, new shoots.
Is a baby born in January 1994 a Dog?
No. A baby born before 10 February 1994 belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Wood Dog years?
1934. 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.