---
title: "1949 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Ox (己丑), 29 Jan 1949 to 16 Feb 1950 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "1949 is the Year of the Earth Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 29 January 1949 to 16 February 1950, so a birthday before 29 January 1949 is a Rat. What Earth means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1949"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 1949: Year of the Earth Ox

1949 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, an Earth year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 29 January 1949 and runs to 16 February 1950. Born from 1 January to 28 January 1949? You are a [Rat, 1948](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1948).

牛

niú

Earth Ox

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

**Element**
土 tǔ Earth, yin

**Cycle name**
己丑年 jǐ chǒu nián

**Starts**
29 January 1949

**Ends**
16 February 1950

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

**Age**
Born in 1949? You turn 77 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=1949-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 1949 in Chinese

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

- 一九四九年 yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián 1949
- 己丑年 jǐ chǒu nián the 己丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九四九年出生的 wǒ shì yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián chū shēng de I was born in 1949.
- 我属牛 wǒ shǔ niú I'm a Ox.
- 土牛 tǔ niú Earth Ox

## 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 Ox

- 勤劳 qínláo hard-working
- 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 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 1949?

1949 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 29 January 1949 to 16 February 1950. Its element is Earth, so people born in it are Earth Oxs.

### What if I was born in January or early February 1949?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 28 January 1949? You belong to 1948, the Year of the Earth Rat.

### What element is 1949 in the Chinese zodiac?

Earth, 土 (tǔ). 1949 is 己丑 (jǐ chǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Earth year; the Earth Ox comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 1949 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九四九年 (yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián). “I was born in 1949” is 我是一九四九年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ sì jiǔ nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).