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1939 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Rabbit
1939 is the year of the Earth Rabbit, 己卯: from Chinese New Year on 19 February 1939 to 7 February 1940.
Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
The Earth Rabbit
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 Rabbit came last in 1879 and returns in 1999. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 城头土.
Company
The Rabbit shares a trine with the Goat and the Pig; its secret friend is the Dog. Those signs are said to find a Rabbit year easiest. The Jade Rabbit lives on the moon, pounding the elixir of life under the osmanthus tree; look for it at Mid-Autumn.
Years of the Rabbit
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1927Fire Rabbit, from 2 February 1927
- 1939Earth Rabbit, from 19 February 1939
- 1951Metal Rabbit, from 6 February 1951
- 1963Water Rabbit, from 25 January 1963
- 1975Wood Rabbit, from 11 February 1975
- 1987Fire Rabbit, from 29 January 1987
- 1999Earth Rabbit, from 16 February 1999
- 2011Metal Rabbit, from 3 February 2011
- 2023Water Rabbit, from 22 January 2023
- 2035Wood Rabbit, from 8 February 2035
Born in 1939?
Between 19 February 1939 and 7 February 1940 you are an Earth Rabbit.
Anyone born from 19 February 1939 to 7 February 1940 is an Earth Rabbit (己卯) and turns 87 in 2026. Gentle, tactful and perceptive. The Rabbit prefers harmony to confrontation and tends to be the one everyone confides in. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.
Born in January or early February 1939, before the 19 February 1939 new year? Then the previous animal, the Tiger, 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 Rabbit comes round again) are 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035, 2047; the next one is 2035. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Rabbit best are the Goat, the Pig and the Dog: the compatibility table has every pair.
Questions
What is the Chinese zodiac for 1939?
1939 is the Year of the Earth Rabbit. Anyone born from 19 February 1939 to 7 February 1940 is a Rabbit; a birthday earlier in 1939, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Tiger.
When does the Year of the Rabbit 1939 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 19 February 1939, and ends on 7 February 1940, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Rabbit in 1939?
Earth (土), from the heavenly stem 己. Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre.
Is a baby born in January 1939 a Rabbit?
No. A baby born before 19 February 1939 belongs to the previous animal, the Tiger. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Earth Rabbit years?
1999. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Rabbit in ink
The Rabbit painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
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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 Rabbit. All twelve: the zodiac.