Cathay Ink › Chinese zodiac › Year of the Dog › 2018
2018 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Dog
2018 is the year of the Earth Dog, 戊戌: from Chinese New Year on 16 February 2018 to 4 February 2019.
Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
The Earth Dog
Element
Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Earth Dog came last in 1958 and returns in 2078. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 平地木.
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 2018?
Between 16 February 2018 and 4 February 2019 you are an Earth Dog.
Anyone born from 16 February 2018 to 4 February 2019 is an Earth Dog (戊戌) and turns 8 in 2026. Loyal, fair and protective. The Dog keeps its word and its friends, and has a strong sense of what is right. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 2018, before the 16 February 2018 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 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 2018?
2018 is the Year of the Earth Dog. Anyone born from 16 February 2018 to 4 February 2019 is a Dog; a birthday earlier in 2018, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Rooster.
When does the Year of the Dog 2018 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 16 February 2018, and ends on 4 February 2019, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Dog in 2018?
Earth (土), from the heavenly stem 戊. Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre.
Is a baby born in January 2018 a Dog?
No. A baby born before 16 February 2018 belongs to the previous animal, the Rooster. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Earth Dog years?
1958. 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.