1984: Year of the Wood Rat
1984 is the Year of the Rat, 鼠 , a Wood year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 2 February 1984 and runs to 19 February 1985. Born from 1 January to 1 February 1984? You are a Pig, 1983.
1984 in the Chinese zodiac
鼠
Wood Rat
- Animal
- 鼠 Rat
- Element
- 木 Wood, yang
- Cycle name
- 甲子年
- Starts
- 2 February 1984
- Ends
- 19 February 1985
- Matches
- Dragon, Monkey and Ox; clashes with Horse
- Age
- Born in 1984? You turn 42 in 2026.
Say 1984 in Chinese
A year is read digit by digit, then 年 : no “nineteen eighty-three”.
- 一九八四年 1984
- 甲子年 the 甲子 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九八四年出生的 I was born in 1984.
- 我属鼠 I'm a Rat.
- 木鼠 Wood Rat
What Wood means
木Wood is growth: a tree reaching up and out. People born in a Wood year are said to be generous and kind, slow to anger and quick to help.
- Season
- 春 spring
- Direction
- 东 east
- Colour
- 青 green
Words for a Wood Rat
- 机灵 quick-witted
- 大方 generous
- 仁慈 kind
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 Rat, 鼠
The Rat comes first of the twelve: in the old story of the Great Race it rode across the river on the Ox’s back and jumped off at the finish. People born in a Rat year are said to be quick-witted and resourceful, the first to spot a chance and careful to save for a rainy day.
Questions
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1984?
1984 is the Year of the Rat, 鼠 (shǔ), from Chinese New Year on 2 February 1984 to 19 February 1985. Its element is Wood, so people born in it are Wood Rats.
What if I was born in January or early February 1984?
The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 1 February 1984? You belong to 1983, the Year of the Water Pig.
What element is 1984 in the Chinese zodiac?
Wood, 木 (mù). 1984 is 甲子 (jiǎ zǐ) in the sixty-year cycle, a yang Wood year; the Wood Rat comes round once every sixty years.
How do you say 1984 in Chinese?
Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九八四年 (yī jiǔ bā sì nián). “I was born in 1984” is 我是一九八四年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ bā sì nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Rat” is 我属鼠 (wǒ shǔ shǔ).