---
title: "2013 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Snake (癸巳), 10 Feb 2013 to 30 Jan 2014 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "2013 is the Year of the Water Snake, 蛇 shé: from Chinese New Year on 10 February 2013 to 30 January 2014, so a birthday before 10 February 2013 is a Dragon. What Water means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属蛇."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2013"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 2013: Year of the Water Snake

2013 is the Year of the Snake, 蛇 shé, a Water year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 10 February 2013 and runs to 30 January 2014. Born from 1 January to 9 February 2013? You are a [Dragon, 2012](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2012).

蛇

shé

Water Snake

**Animal**
[蛇 shé Snake](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/snake)

**Element**
水 shuǐ Water, yin

**Cycle name**
癸巳年 guǐ sì nián

**Starts**
10 February 2013

**Ends**
30 January 2014

**Matches**
Rooster, Ox and Monkey; clashes with Pig

**Age**
Born in 2013? You turn 13 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=2013-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 2013 in Chinese

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

- 二〇一三年 èr líng yī sān nián 2013
- 癸巳年 guǐ sì nián the 癸巳 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇一三年出生的 wǒ shì èr líng yī sān nián chū shēng de I was born in 2013.
- 我属蛇 wǒ shǔ shé I'm a Snake.
- 水蛇 shuǐ shé Water Snake

## 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 Snake

- 冷静 lěngjìng calm
- 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 Snake, 蛇

The Snake is called the “little dragon”, 小龙. People born in a Snake year are said to be calm, wise and intuitive: private people who think before they speak and rarely miss.

[Snake personality, matches and sayings](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/snake)

## Questions

### What Chinese zodiac animal is 2013?

2013 is the Year of the Snake, 蛇 (shé), from Chinese New Year on 10 February 2013 to 30 January 2014. Its element is Water, so people born in it are Water Snakes.

### What if I was born in January or early February 2013?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 9 February 2013? You belong to 2012, the Year of the Water Dragon.

### What element is 2013 in the Chinese zodiac?

Water, 水 (shuǐ). 2013 is 癸巳 (guǐ sì) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Water year; the Water Snake comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 2013 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇一三年 (èr líng yī sān nián). “I was born in 2013” is 我是二〇一三年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng yī sān nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Snake” is 我属蛇 (wǒ shǔ shé).