---
title: "1913 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Ox (癸丑), 6 Feb 1913 to 25 Jan 1914 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "1913 is the Year of the Water Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 6 February 1913 to 25 January 1914, so a birthday before 6 February 1913 is a Rat. What Water means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1913"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 1913: Year of the Water Ox

1913 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, a Water year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 6 February 1913 and runs to 25 January 1914. Born from 1 January to 5 February 1913? You are a [Rat, 1912](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1912).

牛

niú

Water Ox

**Animal**
[牛 niú Ox](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/ox)

**Element**
水 shuǐ Water, yin

**Cycle name**
癸丑年 guǐ chǒu nián

**Starts**
6 February 1913

**Ends**
25 January 1914

**Matches**
Snake, Rooster and Rat; clashes with Goat

**Age**
Born in 1913? You turn 113 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=1913-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 1913 in Chinese

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

- 一九一三年 yī jiǔ yī sān nián 1913
- 癸丑年 guǐ chǒu nián the 癸丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九一三年出生的 wǒ shì yī jiǔ yī sān nián chū shēng de I was born in 1913.
- 我属牛 wǒ shǔ niú I'm a Ox.
- 水牛 shuǐ niú Water Ox

## What Water means

水Water is calm and finds a way around anything. People born in a Water year are said to be wise and adaptable, good listeners who read a room.

**Season**
冬 dōng winter

**Direction**
北 běi north

**Colour**
黑 hēi black

### Words for a Water Ox

- 勤劳 qínláo hard-working
- 聪明 cōngming clever
- 灵活 línghuó adaptable

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 Ox, 牛

The Ox carried the Rat across the river and came in second. People born in an Ox year are said to be patient, honest and hard-working: slow to start, and then impossible to stop.

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

## Questions

### What Chinese zodiac animal is 1913?

1913 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 6 February 1913 to 25 January 1914. Its element is Water, so people born in it are Water Oxs.

### What if I was born in January or early February 1913?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 5 February 1913? You belong to 1912, the Year of the Water Rat.

### What element is 1913 in the Chinese zodiac?

Water, 水 (shuǐ). 1913 is 癸丑 (guǐ chǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Water year; the Water Ox comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 1913 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九一三年 (yī jiǔ yī sān nián). “I was born in 1913” is 我是一九一三年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ yī sān nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).