---
title: "1909 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Rooster (己酉), 22 Jan 1909 to 9 Feb 1910 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "1909 is the Year of the Earth Rooster, 鸡 jī: from Chinese New Year on 22 January 1909 to 9 February 1910, so a birthday before 22 January 1909 is a Monkey. What Earth means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属鸡."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1909"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese zodiac](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac)

# 1909: Year of the Earth Rooster

1909 is the Year of the Rooster, 鸡 jī, an Earth year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 22 January 1909 and runs to 9 February 1910. Born from 1 January to 21 January 1909? You are a [Monkey, 1908](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1908).

鸡

jī

Earth Rooster

**Animal**
[鸡 jī Rooster](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/rooster)

**Element**
土 tǔ Earth, yin

**Cycle name**
己酉年 jǐ yǒu nián

**Starts**
22 January 1909

**Ends**
9 February 1910

**Matches**
Ox, Snake and Dragon; clashes with Rabbit

**Age**
Born in 1909? You turn 117 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=1909-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 1909 in Chinese

A year is read digit by digit, then 年 nián: no “nineteen eighty-three”.

- 一九〇九年 yī jiǔ líng jiǔ nián 1909
- 己酉年 jǐ yǒu nián the 己酉 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九〇九年出生的 wǒ shì yī jiǔ líng jiǔ nián chū shēng de I was born in 1909.
- 我属鸡 wǒ shǔ jī I'm a Rooster.
- 土鸡 tǔ jī Earth Rooster

## What Earth means

土Earth is the ground everything stands on, at the centre of the five. People born in an Earth year are said to be steady and patient, the friend everyone leans on.

**Season**
长夏 cháng xià late summer

**Direction**
中 zhōng the centre

**Colour**
黄 huáng yellow

### Words for an Earth Rooster

- 自信 zìxìn confident
- 稳重 wěnzhòng steady
- 可靠 kěkào reliable

Each year has one of five elements, 五行 wǔ xíng, two years each, so the same animal and element meet once every sixty years. The traits are what tradition says, for fun.

## The Rooster, 鸡

The Rooster wakes the world each morning. People born in a Rooster year are said to be confident, hard-working and frank: early risers who notice every detail and say what they think.

[Rooster personality, matches and sayings](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/rooster)

## Questions

### What Chinese zodiac animal is 1909?

1909 is the Year of the Rooster, 鸡 (jī), from Chinese New Year on 22 January 1909 to 9 February 1910. Its element is Earth, so people born in it are Earth Roosters.

### What if I was born in January or early February 1909?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 21 January 1909? You belong to 1908, the Year of the Earth Monkey.

### What element is 1909 in the Chinese zodiac?

Earth, 土 (tǔ). 1909 is 己酉 (jǐ yǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Earth year; the Earth Rooster comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 1909 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九〇九年 (yī jiǔ líng jiǔ nián). “I was born in 1909” is 我是一九〇九年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ líng jiǔ nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Rooster” is 我属鸡 (wǒ shǔ jī).