2012: Year of the Water Dragon
2012 is the Year of the Dragon, 龙 , a Water year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 23 January 2012 and runs to 9 February 2013. Born from 1 January to 22 January 2012? You are a Rabbit, 2011.
2012 in the Chinese zodiac
龙
Water Dragon
- Animal
- 龙 Dragon
- Element
- 水 Water, yang
- Cycle name
- 壬辰年
- Starts
- 23 January 2012
- Ends
- 9 February 2013
- Matches
- Monkey, Rat and Rooster; clashes with Dog
- Age
- Born in 2012? You turn 14 in 2026.
Say 2012 in Chinese
A year is read digit by digit, then 年 : no “nineteen eighty-three”.
- 二〇一二年 2012
- 壬辰年 the 壬辰 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇一二年出生的 I was born in 2012.
- 我属龙 I'm a Dragon.
- 水龙 Water Dragon
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 Dragon
- 有活力 full of energy
- 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 Dragon, 龙
The Dragon is the only one of the twelve that isn’t real, and the luckiest: emperors wore it, and many families hope for a Dragon baby. People born in a Dragon year are said to be ambitious, energetic and charismatic, people who think big.
Questions
What Chinese zodiac animal is 2012?
2012 is the Year of the Dragon, 龙 (lóng), from Chinese New Year on 23 January 2012 to 9 February 2013. Its element is Water, so people born in it are Water Dragons.
What if I was born in January or early February 2012?
The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 22 January 2012? You belong to 2011, the Year of the Metal Rabbit.
What element is 2012 in the Chinese zodiac?
Water, 水 (shuǐ). 2012 is 壬辰 (rén chén) in the sixty-year cycle, a yang Water year; the Water Dragon comes round once every sixty years.
How do you say 2012 in Chinese?
Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇一二年 (èr líng yī èr nián). “I was born in 2012” is 我是二〇一二年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng yī èr nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Dragon” is 我属龙 (wǒ shǔ lóng).