Chinese zodiac · all 12 animals
1945 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Rooster
乙酉年 Wood Rooster, yin (阴)
Exact dates, who counts as a Rooster, the element and matches.
The answer
1945 is the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac: a Wood Rooster year, 乙酉 (yǐ yǒu) in the 60-year cycle. It runs from 13 February 1945 to 1 February 1946, so people born from 1 January to 12 February 1945 belong to the previous animal, the Monkey.
1945 at a glance
- Animal
- Rooster 鸡 (jī), tenth of the 12
- Element
- Wood 木, yin (阴), from the stem 乙 (yǐ)
- 60-year cycle
- 乙酉 yǐ yǒu · the same Wood Rooster year was 2005 and comes again in after 2100
- Starts
- Tuesday, 13 February 1945 (Chinese New Year)
- Ends
- Friday, 1 February 1946 · the Year of the Dog begins the next day
- Lichun
- 4 February 1945 · the solar-term start of spring, used as the year boundary by some almanacs
- Age in 2026
- Turns 81 · next 本命年 (own zodiac year): 2029
- Best matches
- Ox and Snake (三合 trine), Dragon (六合 pair) · clashes with the Rabbit
Born in 1945? Check the date first
The zodiac follows the lunar year, not the Western calendar year. In 1945 the cut-off was 13 February 1945.
| Born | Zodiac animal | Element | Cycle year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan – 12 Feb 1945 1945 | Monkey 猴 | Wood | 甲申 |
| 13 Feb 1945 – 31 Dec 1945 | Rooster 鸡 | Wood | 乙酉 |
| 1 Jan 1946 – 1 Feb 1946 | Rooster 鸡 (still) | Wood | 乙酉 |
Some almanacs and Chinese astrologers use Lichun (4 February 1945 in 1945) as the boundary instead, which can move a few days of January or February births to the other animal. The Lunar New Year rule is the everyday one. Not sure? Use the Chinese zodiac calculator.
What the Rooster means
Tradition calls Rooster people honest, hard-working and confident, and pairs them best with the Ox and Snake. The element adds a layer: a Wood Rooster is read differently from a Fire Rooster. In daily life in China the sign matters most for 本命年 and for New Year decorations, stamps and gifts in Rooster years. Read the full Year of the Rooster guide for the traits, matches and the stories behind the animal.
Other Years of the Rooster
The Rooster returns every 12 years; the element changes each time, so the Wood Rooster itself comes round only every 60.
| Year | Element and animal | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Earth Rooster 土鸡 · 己酉 | 22 Jan 1909 | 9 Feb 1910 |
| 1921 | Metal Rooster 金鸡 · 辛酉 | 8 Feb 1921 | 27 Jan 1922 |
| 1933 | Water Rooster 水鸡 · 癸酉 | 26 Jan 1933 | 13 Feb 1934 |
| 1945 | Wood Rooster 木鸡 · 乙酉 | 13 Feb 1945 | 1 Feb 1946 |
| 1957 | Fire Rooster 火鸡 · 丁酉 | 31 Jan 1957 | 17 Feb 1958 |
| 1969 | Earth Rooster 土鸡 · 己酉 | 17 Feb 1969 | 5 Feb 1970 |
| 1981 | Metal Rooster 金鸡 · 辛酉 | 5 Feb 1981 | 24 Jan 1982 |
| 1993 | Water Rooster 水鸡 · 癸酉 | 23 Jan 1993 | 9 Feb 1994 |
| 2005 | Wood Rooster 木鸡 · 乙酉 | 9 Feb 2005 | 28 Jan 2006 |
Matches for people born in 1945
Traditional compatibility pairs the 12 animals on a wheel: the three animals four places apart form a 三合 (sānhé) trine, each animal has one 六合 (liùhé) partner, and the animal opposite is its 六冲 (liùchōng) clash. These are folk rules used in match-making and in choosing wedding dates, not predictions.
Festival dates in 1945
Western dates for the main Chinese festivals in 1945. The full year, with lunar months and solar terms, is on the Chinese calendar 1945 page.
- Chinese New Year
- 13 February 1945 春节
- Lantern Festival
- 27 February 1945 元宵节
- Qingming Festival
- 5 April 1945 清明节
- Dragon Boat Festival
- 14 June 1945 端午节
- Mid-Autumn Festival
- 20 September 1945 中秋节
- Chinese New Year’s Eve
- 12 February 1945 除夕
Questions readers ask
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1945?
1945 is the Year of the Rooster (鸡, jī). In the full 60-year cycle it is 乙酉, a Wood Rooster year, yin (阴). It began on 13 February 1945 and ended on 1 February 1946; 1946 is the Year of the Dog.
I was born in January or February 1945. What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
It depends on the exact date. The Year of the Rooster started on 13 February 1945. Born on or after that date, you are a Rooster; born between 1 January and 12 February 1945, you are a Monkey. Some Chinese almanacs and astrologers start the year at Lichun (立春, start of spring) instead, which fell on 4 February 1945 in 1945; the Lunar New Year rule is the one most people in China use.
What element is 1945 in the Chinese zodiac?
Wood (木, mù). The element comes from the heavenly stem 乙 (yǐ), which also makes 1945 a yin (阴) year. The same animal returns every 12 years, but the same element and animal together, the Wood Rooster, return only every 60 years: the previous one was 2005 and the next is after 2100.
How old is someone born in 1945 in 2026?
Someone born in 1945 turns 81 in 2026 (80 until their birthday). In traditional Chinese reckoning (虚岁, xūsuì) a person is one at birth and gains a year at Lunar New Year, so the same person counts as 82 for most of 2026.
When is the next Year of the Rooster?
The Year of the Rooster returns every 12 years.
Tools
Sources
- Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-Lunar calendar conversion tables, 1901–2100 (Lunar New Year dates) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chinese zodiac (animals, stems and the 60-year cycle) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, What is benmingnian? (2 January 2024, in Chinese) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
Update log. 31 October 2026 — published. Lunar New Year and Lichun dates computed in Beijing time and checked against the Hong Kong Observatory tables; births from the National Bureau of Statistics annual series. Suggest a correction
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