Rabbit Chinese Zodiac Sign
The Rabbit is the fourth sign of the Chinese zodiac, fixed to the Wood element and classed as Yin. It corresponds to the double-hour of 5 am to 7 am, and recent Rabbit years include 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 and 2035.
| Earthly Branch | Mao (卯) |
|---|---|
| Recent and upcoming years | 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035 |
The Rabbit's gentler reputation in folk tradition is often traced to its association with the Moon Rabbit of Mid-Autumn Festival lore, said to keep the goddess Chang'e company on the moon and grind herbs beside her. Storytelling and almanac writing carry that same softness into how Rabbit years are described: people born under the sign are commonly cast as diplomatic, careful, and quick to smooth over a disagreement before it grows.
Rabbit's Element: Wood, Yin
Separate from the moon-lore imagery, traditional cosmology fixes the Rabbit to an element and polarity of its own: Wood, classed as Yin. That fixed pairing is distinct from the yearly stem-based element used in the Four Pillars system, so a Rabbit year can carry a different elemental reading depending on that year's heavenly stem — 1987 and 1999 are both Rabbit years read with different stems.
Rabbit and the Wheel of Twelve
Almanacs place the Rabbit with the Goat and the Pig in what is traditionally called the Wood frame, one of four three-sign "harmony" groupings on the wheel. Its dedicated Six Harmonies (liu he) partner is the Dog, and its clash partner directly opposite on the wheel is the Rooster. These groupings are cultural shorthand, not instructions for choosing relationships.
Reading the Rabbit Sign Today
Like the other eleven signs, the Rabbit's traits are best treated as festival-season conversation material rather than a fixed description of any one person born under the sign.
What years are Rabbit years?
Recent Rabbit years are 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 and 2035. A zodiac year starts on Chinese New Year, not 1 January, so people born in January or early February may belong to the previous sign, the Tiger.
What element is the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac?
In the traditional five-elements framework, the Rabbit is fixed to the Wood element and classed as Yin; the sign is ranked number 4 in the traditional zodiac order and covers the hours of roughly 5–7 am in the old double-hour system.
Which signs traditionally get along well with the Rabbit?
Folk tradition groups the Rabbit with the Goat and Pig into what almanacs call the 'Wood frame,' a Three Harmonies (san he) triad, and pairs it specifically with the Dog in a Six Harmonies (liu he) match; these are traditional groupings, not guarantees.
Which sign does the Rabbit traditionally clash with?
The Rabbit is traditionally said to clash with the Rooster, its opposite on the zodiac wheel; folklore treats this as a point worth being mindful of rather than a fixed outcome.
Zodiac, year pillar (Gānzhī) and na yin element are computed from the lunar calendar with lunar-typescript · Last updated 2026-09-11