Chinese zodiac · all 12 animals
2025 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Snake
乙巳年 Wood Snake, yin (阴)
Exact dates, who counts as a Snake, the element and matches, and how many babies China had in 2025.
The answer
2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac: a Wood Snake year, 乙巳 (yǐ sì) in the 60-year cycle. It runs from 29 January 2025 to 16 February 2026, so people born from 1 January to 28 January 2025 belong to the previous animal, the Dragon. China recorded 7.92 million births in 2025.
2025 at a glance
- Animal
- Snake 蛇 (shé), sixth of the 12
- Element
- Wood 木, yin (阴), from the stem 乙 (yǐ)
- 60-year cycle
- 乙巳 yǐ sì · the same Wood Snake year was 1965 and comes again in 2085
- Starts
- Wednesday, 29 January 2025 (Chinese New Year)
- Ends
- Monday, 16 February 2026 · the Year of the Horse begins the next day
- Lichun
- 3 February 2025 · the solar-term start of spring, used as the year boundary by some almanacs
- Births in 2025
- 7.92 million in mainland China (NBS), −17% on 2024
- Age in 2026
- Turns 1 · next 本命年 (own zodiac year): 2037
- Best matches
- Rooster and Ox (三合 trine), Monkey (六合 pair) · clashes with the Pig
Born in 2025? Check the date first
The zodiac follows the lunar year, not the Western calendar year. In 2025 the cut-off was 29 January 2025.
| Born | Zodiac animal | Element | Cycle year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan – 28 Jan 2025 2025 | Dragon 龙 | Wood | 甲辰 |
| 29 Jan 2025 – 31 Dec 2025 | Snake 蛇 | Wood | 乙巳 |
| 1 Jan 2026 – 16 Feb 2026 | Snake 蛇 (still) | Wood | 乙巳 |
Some almanacs and Chinese astrologers use Lichun (3 February 2025 in 2025) 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.
How many Snakes: China’s births in 2025
The National Bureau of Statistics counted 7.92 million births in mainland China in 2025, −17% compared with 2024 (9.54 million). Among the 77 years from 1949 to 2025, 2025 ranks 77th for births.
These are calendar-year counts, so a few weeks of 2025’s babies belong to the Dragon and the first weeks of 2026 to the Snake. Figures before the 1982 census come mainly from household registration, as the NBS notes.
What the Snake means
Tradition calls Snake people wise, calm and private, and pairs them best with the Rooster and Ox. The element adds a layer: a Wood Snake is read differently from a Fire Snake. In daily life in China the sign matters most for 本命年 and for New Year decorations, stamps and gifts in Snake years. Read the full Year of the Snake guide for the traits, matches and the stories behind the animal.
Other Years of the Snake
The Snake returns every 12 years; the element changes each time, so the Wood Snake itself comes round only every 60.
| Year | Element and animal | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Wood Snake 木蛇 · 乙巳 | 2 Feb 1965 | 20 Jan 1966 |
| 1977 | Fire Snake 火蛇 · 丁巳 | 18 Feb 1977 | 6 Feb 1978 |
| 1989 | Earth Snake 土蛇 · 己巳 | 6 Feb 1989 | 26 Jan 1990 |
| 2001 | Metal Snake 金蛇 · 辛巳 | 24 Jan 2001 | 11 Feb 2002 |
| 2013 | Water Snake 水蛇 · 癸巳 | 10 Feb 2013 | 30 Jan 2014 |
| 2025 | Wood Snake 木蛇 · 乙巳 | 29 Jan 2025 | 16 Feb 2026 |
| 2037 | Fire Snake 火蛇 · 丁巳 | 15 Feb 2037 | 3 Feb 2038 |
| 2049 | Earth Snake 土蛇 · 己巳 | 2 Feb 2049 | 22 Jan 2050 |
| 2061 | Metal Snake 金蛇 · 辛巳 | 21 Jan 2061 | 8 Feb 2062 |
| 2073 | Water Snake 水蛇 · 癸巳 | 7 Feb 2073 | 26 Jan 2074 |
| 2085 | Wood Snake 木蛇 · 乙巳 | 26 Jan 2085 | 13 Feb 2086 |
Matches for people born in 2025
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 2025
Western dates for the main Chinese festivals in 2025. The full year, with lunar months and solar terms, is on the Chinese calendar 2025 page.
- Chinese New Year
- 29 January 2025 春节
- Lantern Festival
- 12 February 2025 元宵节
- Qingming Festival
- 4 April 2025 清明节
- Dragon Boat Festival
- 31 May 2025 端午节
- Mid-Autumn Festival
- 6 October 2025 中秋节
- Chinese New Year’s Eve
- 28 January 2025 除夕
Questions readers ask
What Chinese zodiac animal is 2025?
2025 is the Year of the Snake (蛇, shé). In the full 60-year cycle it is 乙巳, a Wood Snake year, yin (阴). It began on 29 January 2025 and ended on 16 February 2026; 2026 is the Year of the Horse.
I was born in January or February 2025. What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
It depends on the exact date. The Year of the Snake started on 29 January 2025. Born on or after that date, you are a Snake; born between 1 January and 28 January 2025, you are a Dragon. Some Chinese almanacs and astrologers start the year at Lichun (立春, start of spring) instead, which fell on 3 February 2025 in 2025; the Lunar New Year rule is the one most people in China use.
What element is 2025 in the Chinese zodiac?
Wood (木, mù). The element comes from the heavenly stem 乙 (yǐ), which also makes 2025 a yin (阴) year. The same animal returns every 12 years, but the same element and animal together, the Wood Snake, return only every 60 years: the previous one was 1965 and the next is 2085.
How old is someone born in 2025 in 2026?
Someone born in 2025 turns 1 in 2026 (0 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 2 for most of 2026.
When is the next Year of the Snake?
2037, starting on 15 February 2037. For someone born in 2025 that is a 本命年 (běnmìngnián), their own zodiac year, which tradition treats as a year to be careful in; many people wear something red for it.
How many babies were born in China in 2025?
About 7.92 million, according to the National Bureau of Statistics series, −17% compared with 2024. That ranks 2025 77th of the 77 years from 1949 to 2025.
Tools
Sources
- Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-Lunar calendar conversion tables, 1901–2100 (Lunar New Year dates) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, National Data (年度数据 → 人口 → 出生人口) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- NBS, statistical communiqué on 2024 national economic and social development (births 9.54 million) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- NBS, statistical communiqué on 2025 national economic and social development (births 7.92 million) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- NBS public Q&A: where to find births for years before 1982 (data.stats.gov.cn; pre-1982 data from household registration) · 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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