---
title: "2033 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Ox (癸丑), 31 Jan 2033 to 18 Feb 2034 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "2033 is the Year of the Water Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 31 January 2033 to 18 February 2034, so a birthday before 31 January 2033 is a Rat. What Water means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2033"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 2033: Year of the Water Ox

2033 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, a Water year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 31 January 2033 and runs to 18 February 2034. Born from 1 January to 30 January 2033? You are a [Rat, 2032](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2032).

牛

niú

Water Ox

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

**Element**
水 shuǐ Water, yin

**Cycle name**
癸丑年 guǐ chǒu nián

**Starts**
31 January 2033

**Ends**
18 February 2034

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

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=2033-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 2033 in Chinese

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

- 二〇三三年 èr líng sān sān nián 2033
- 癸丑年 guǐ chǒu nián the 癸丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇三三年出生的 wǒ shì èr líng sān sān nián chū shēng de I was born in 2033.
- 我属牛 wǒ shǔ niú I'm a Ox.
- 水牛 shuǐ niú Water Ox

## 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 Ox

- 勤劳 qínláo hard-working
- 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 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 2033?

2033 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 31 January 2033 to 18 February 2034. Its element is Water, so people born in it are Water Oxs.

### What if I was born in January or early February 2033?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 30 January 2033? You belong to 2032, the Year of the Water Rat.

### What element is 2033 in the Chinese zodiac?

Water, 水 (shuǐ). 2033 is 癸丑 (guǐ chǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Water year; the Water Ox comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 2033 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇三三年 (èr líng sān sān nián). “I was born in 2033” is 我是二〇三三年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng sān sān nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).