---
title: "2009 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Ox (己丑), 26 Jan 2009 to 13 Feb 2010 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "2009 is the Year of the Earth Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 26 January 2009 to 13 February 2010, so a birthday before 26 January 2009 is a Rat. What Earth means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2009"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 2009: Year of the Earth Ox

2009 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, an Earth year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 26 January 2009 and runs to 13 February 2010. Born from 1 January to 25 January 2009? You are a [Rat, 2008](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2008).

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**
26 January 2009

**Ends**
13 February 2010

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

**Age**
Born in 2009? You turn 17 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=2009-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 2009 in Chinese

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

- 二〇〇九年 èr líng líng jiǔ nián 2009
- 己丑年 jǐ chǒu nián the 己丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇〇九年出生的 wǒ shì èr líng líng jiǔ nián chū shēng de I was born in 2009.
- 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 2009?

2009 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 26 January 2009 to 13 February 2010. Its element is Earth, so people born in it are Earth Oxs.

### What if I was born in January or early February 2009?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 25 January 2009? You belong to 2008, the Year of the Earth Rat.

### What element is 2009 in the Chinese zodiac?

Earth, 土 (tǔ). 2009 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 2009 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇〇九年 (èr líng líng jiǔ nián). “I was born in 2009” is 我是二〇〇九年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng líng jiǔ nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).