1973: Year of the Water Ox
1973 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 , a Water year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 3 February 1973 and runs to 22 January 1974. Born from 1 January to 2 February 1973? You are a Rat, 1972.
1973 in the Chinese zodiac
牛
Water Ox
- Animal
- 牛 Ox
- Element
- 水 Water, yin
- Cycle name
- 癸丑年
- Starts
- 3 February 1973
- Ends
- 22 January 1974
- Matches
- Snake, Rooster and Rat; clashes with Goat
- Age
- Born in 1973? You turn 53 in 2026.
Say 1973 in Chinese
A year is read digit by digit, then 年 : no “nineteen eighty-three”.
- 一九七三年 1973
- 癸丑年 the 癸丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九七三年出生的 I was born in 1973.
- 我属牛 I'm a Ox.
- 水牛 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 winter
- Direction
- 北 north
- Colour
- 黑 black
Words for a Water Ox
- 勤劳 hard-working
- 聪明 clever
- 灵活 adaptable
Each year has one of five elements, 五行 , 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.
Questions
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1973?
1973 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 3 February 1973 to 22 January 1974. Its element is Water, so people born in it are Water Oxs.
What if I was born in January or early February 1973?
The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 2 February 1973? You belong to 1972, the Year of the Water Rat.
What element is 1973 in the Chinese zodiac?
Water, 水 (shuǐ). 1973 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 1973 in Chinese?
Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九七三年 (yī jiǔ qī sān nián). “I was born in 1973” is 我是一九七三年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ qī sān nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).