---
title: "1997 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Fire Ox (丁丑), 7 Feb 1997 to 27 Jan 1998 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "1997 is the Year of the Fire Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 7 February 1997 to 27 January 1998, so a birthday before 7 February 1997 is a Rat. What Fire means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1997"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 1997: Year of the Fire Ox

1997 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, a Fire year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 7 February 1997 and runs to 27 January 1998. Born from 1 January to 6 February 1997? You are a [Rat, 1996](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1996).

牛

niú

Fire Ox

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

**Element**
火 huǒ Fire, yin

**Cycle name**
丁丑年 dīng chǒu nián

**Starts**
7 February 1997

**Ends**
27 January 1998

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

**Age**
Born in 1997? You turn 29 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=1997-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 1997 in Chinese

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

- 一九九七年 yī jiǔ jiǔ qī nián 1997
- 丁丑年 dīng chǒu nián the 丁丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九九七年出生的 wǒ shì yī jiǔ jiǔ qī nián chū shēng de I was born in 1997.
- 我属牛 wǒ shǔ niú I'm a Ox.
- 火牛 huǒ niú Fire Ox

## What Fire means

火Fire is warmth and light at the height of summer. People born in a Fire year are said to be passionate and bold, the first to start and the last to give up.

**Season**
夏 xià summer

**Direction**
南 nán south

**Colour**
红 hóng red

### Words for a Fire Ox

- 勤劳 qínláo hard-working
- 热情 rèqíng warm-hearted
- 乐观 lèguān optimistic

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 1997?

1997 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 7 February 1997 to 27 January 1998. Its element is Fire, so people born in it are Fire Oxs.

### What if I was born in January or early February 1997?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 6 February 1997? You belong to 1996, the Year of the Fire Rat.

### What element is 1997 in the Chinese zodiac?

Fire, 火 (huǒ). 1997 is 丁丑 (dīng chǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Fire year; the Fire Ox comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 1997 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九九七年 (yī jiǔ jiǔ qī nián). “I was born in 1997” is 我是一九九七年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ jiǔ qī nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).