Year of the Ox: Years List, Traits & Compatibility

Recent Years of the Ox: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021. The sign returns every 12 years; the next one after 2021 is 2033. Each occurrence pairs the Chou (丑) branch with a different Heavenly Stem, so the same animal appears as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water versions across a 60-year cycle.

A zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, not on January 1. Lunar New Year falls between January 21 and February 20, so anyone born in that window should check the exact start date in the table below before assuming the sign.

The 2021 Year of the Ox (Metal Ox, Xin-Chou 辛丑) runs from February 12, 2021 to January 31, 2022, while Li Chun, the year-pillar boundary used by many Bazi schools, falls on February 3, 2021. The next Year of the Ox begins on January 31, 2033. A Chinese zodiac year does not start on January 1. The popular zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year (late January to mid-February), while many Bazi schools change the year pillar at the Li Chun solar term (around February 4). Use the table to check a January or February birthday against both boundaries.

In the Chinese calendar the Ox is a label for Chou (丑), the 2nd of the twelve Earthly Branches. Chou is Yin Earth. It marks the two-hour period of 1–3 am, the north-northeast direction, and late winter.

In a Bazi chart Chou is also the branch of the 12th solar month, which begins at the Xiao Han (小寒, Minor Cold) solar term. Its hidden stems are Ji 己 (Yin Earth), Gui 癸 (Yin Water), Xin 辛 (Yin Metal). Those hidden stems are why the same animal can read differently from one chart to another: they interact with the Day Master in ways the animal symbol does not show.

The traditional relationships are fixed by branch position rather than by personality:

• Six combination (Liu He): Ox and Rat.
• Triad (San He): Snake, Rooster, Ox, which together form a Metal frame.
• Clash (Chong): Ox and Goat, the branch six places away.
• Six harm (Liu Hai): Ox and Horse.

These pairings describe how the branches interact in a calendar or chart. They are not a verdict on any relationship, and a full Bazi comparison looks at all four pillars of both people. The compatibility chart lists the same patterns for every sign.

Popular zodiac writing describes Ox people as steady, patient, and dependable. Treat that as cultural symbolism attached to the Chou branch, not as a personality test: the year animal is one of eight characters in a birth chart, and the Day Master (the stem of the day pillar) carries more weight in a Bazi reading.

2026 is a Bing-Wu (丙午) Fire Horse year. For the Ox, Wu is a six-harm (Liu Hai) pair. The 2026 forecast explains how that relationship is usually read, and why it should be checked against the full chart.