Korean Zodiac Calculator 띠 계산기

The twelve animals

The animals repeat every twelve years. The years below are for birthdays after Seollal; if you were born in January or early February, check the calculator.

2026: the year of the red horse

2026 is 병오년 (丙午年) — the year of the red horse, the “fire horse” of Chinese and Western books. By the lunar calendar it began at Seollal on February 17, 2026 and ends on February 6, 2027. The next year, 정미년 (丁未年), is the year of the red sheep and starts at Seollal on February 7, 2027.

Colours and the 60-year cycle

Each year also has one of ten heavenly stems (천간), and each pair of stems has a colour and an element. Together with the twelve animals they make a 60-year cycle (육십갑자). That is why Korean media speak of the year of the red horse, and why 2019 was the year of the “golden” (yellow) pig. Turning 60 — 환갑 (hwangap), traditionally celebrated at 61 in the old Korean age — means the cycle has come back to the year you were born.

Seollal or 입춘?

The traditional cut-off for your animal is Seollal, the first day of the lunar year, which fell between January 22 and February 20 in every year from 1900 to 2050 — that is what the calculator uses, with dates from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Fortune-tellers drawing up a 사주 (saju, birth chart) switch at 입춘 (ipchun, the start of spring) instead, around February 4. In casual talk many people simply go by the calendar year.

Why Koreans ask your animal

Age shapes how Koreans speak to each other, but “how old are you?” can feel blunt. Asking someone’s 띠 is a softer way to work out their birth year — and finding out you share an animal means you are 동갑 (donggap), the same age. See your Korean age, and how age decides what you call people.

Sheep, not goat

The eighth animal is 양 (yang), a sheep. In Chinese the same character can mean a sheep or a goat, so English books often say “goat”; a goat in Korean is 염소 (yeomso), and it is not in the zodiac.

Questions

What is my Korean zodiac animal?

It is the animal of the lunar year you were born in. Most birthdays simply follow the calendar year, but if you were born in January or early February before Seollal (Lunar New Year), your animal is the previous year’s.

What year is 2026 in the Korean zodiac?

2026 is 병오년, the year of the red horse (the fire horse). By the lunar calendar it runs from Seollal on February 17, 2026 to February 6, 2027.

What is the Korean zodiac animal for 2027?

The sheep: 2027 is 정미년, the year of the red sheep. It starts on Seollal, February 7, 2027.

Is the Korean zodiac the same as the Chinese zodiac?

It has the same twelve animals in the same order (Korean uses a sheep, 양, for the eighth). Seollal is occasionally a day later than Chinese New Year because Korea uses its own time zone — in 2027 it is February 7 in Korea and February 6 in China.

How do you ask someone’s zodiac sign in Korean?

Say 무슨 띠예요? (museun ttiyeyo?) — “What is your animal?” Answer with 저는 말띠예요 (jeoneun malttiyeyo) — “I am a horse.”

Sources

• Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute — lunar/solar calendar converter (Seollal dates 1900–2050)
• Kyongbuk Maeil — 2026, the year of the red horse; colours of the ten heavenly stems (7 Dec 2025)
• Jeonbuk Ilbo — 병오년: 丙 is red and fire (29 Dec 2025)

Last checked October 24, 2026. Seollal dates: Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, lunar calendar converter.