---
title: "1973 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Ox (癸丑), 3 Feb 1973 to 22 Jan 1974 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "1973 is the Year of the Water Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 3 February 1973 to 22 January 1974, so a birthday before 3 February 1973 is a Rat. What Water means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1973"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 1973: Year of the Water Ox

1973 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, 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](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1972).

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**
3 February 1973

**Ends**
22 January 1974

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

**Age**
Born in 1973? You turn 53 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=1973-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 1973 in Chinese

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

- 一九七三年 yī jiǔ qī sān nián 1973
- 癸丑年 guǐ chǒu nián the 癸丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九七三年出生的 wǒ shì yī jiǔ qī sān nián chū shēng de I was born in 1973.
- 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 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).