Our answer
Year of the Goat 属羊
Eighth of the 12 zodiac animals
The short answer
The Goat (羊, yáng) is the eighth of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. Goat years include 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 and 2027, each starting at Lunar New Year. Tradition calls Goat people gentle, kind and creative, and pairs them best with the Pig and Rabbit.
| In Chinese | 羊 (yáng); earthly branch 未 |
|---|---|
| Place in the cycle | Eighth of 12 |
| Recent Goat years | 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 |
| Next Year of the Goat | 2027, from 6 Feb 2027 |
| Best matches | Pig, Rabbit, Horse; clashes with the Ox |
Year of the Goat: all the years and exact dates
Each Year of the Goat starts at Lunar New Year, so people born in January or early February belong to the previous animal. Check a birth date with our Chinese zodiac calculator.[1]
| Year | Element and animal | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Wood Goat (木羊) | 24 Jan 1955 | 11 Feb 1956 |
| 1967 | Fire Goat (火羊) | 9 Feb 1967 | 29 Jan 1968 |
| 1979 | Earth Goat (土羊) | 28 Jan 1979 | 15 Feb 1980 |
| 1991 | Metal Goat (金羊) | 15 Feb 1991 | 3 Feb 1992 |
| 2003 | Water Goat (水羊) | 1 Feb 2003 | 21 Jan 2004 |
| 2015 | Wood Goat (木羊) | 19 Feb 2015 | 7 Feb 2016 |
| 2027 | Fire Goat (火羊) | 6 Feb 2027 | 25 Jan 2028 |
Goat personality: traits tradition gives Goat people
Folk tradition says people born in a Goat year are gentle, kind and creative, though sometimes calm. The lists differ from source to source, and there is no scientific evidence that birth year shapes personality.[2][3][4]
Goat compatibility: best and worst matches
Traditional matching, which some couples in China still take into account, uses three rules.[2][3][5][6]
| Rule | Match for the Goat | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 三合 (sānhé), trio | Pig and Rabbit | Animals four years apart; the most harmonious |
| 六合 (liùhé), pair | Horse | A secret friend; a good match |
| 六冲 (liùchōng), clash | Ox | Six years apart, opposite on the wheel; traditionally avoided |
What the Goat means in Chinese culture
羊 (yáng) means both goat and sheep, so English calls this sign the Goat, Sheep or Ram. Chinese did not separate the two animals when the zodiac took shape; one researcher thinks it was more likely a goat, while a folklorist notes that pictures follow the local animal, often sheep in the north and goats in the south. In Hong Kong in 2015, Ocean Park and the MTR went with “goat”.
The animal is considered auspicious: the character 美 (měi, beautiful) is written with 羊 on top of 大 (big), and the sheep was the preferred sacrificial animal. The Chinese for scapegoat is 替罪羊.[7][8][4][9]
Do Chinese parents avoid Goat years?
Some do. Demographer Zhai Zhenwu says Chinese preferences for zodiac signs are very clear, and a survey-based study found the Goat the least preferred birth sign. National figures show dips: 22.65 million births in 1991, a Goat year, against 23.91 million in 1990, and 15.99 million in 2003 against 16.47 million in 2002. Other demographers say the zodiac’s effect on births is very small.[10][11][12]
How many babies are born in Goat years in China?
| Goat year | Births in China | Year before | Year after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 15.99 million | 16.47 million (2002) | 15.93 million (2004) |
| 2015 | 16.55 million | 16.87 million (2014) | 17.86 million (2016) |
Calendar-year births from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, as first published. A zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, so it overlaps two calendar years.
Questions readers ask
What years are the Year of the Goat?
Recent Goat years are 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015; the next is 2027, starting on 6 Feb 2027. Each year starts at Lunar New Year, not 1 January.
What is the Goat compatible with?
Traditionally the Pig and Rabbit (its 三合 trio) and the Horse (its 六合 pair). Its clash animal is the Ox.
Is it the Year of the Goat or the Sheep?
Both translations are correct. 羊 (yáng) covers goats, sheep and rams, and Chinese sources use all three in English.
When is the next Year of the Goat?
The Year of the Goat starts on 6 February 2027 and runs to 25 January 2028.
Sources
- Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-Lunar calendar conversion tables, 1901–2100 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, The 12 Chinese zodiac animals and their best matches (2016), part 2 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, The 12 Chinese zodiac animals and their best matches (2016), part 3 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- CGTN, The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac: Goat (January 2020) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac (six harmonies and clashes) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Duke Kunshan University, Lingwei Wu (Fudan): zodiac compatibility and marriage matching in China · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, Goat, sheep or ram? (13 February 2015) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- South China Morning Post, It’s not sheep or ram, it’s Year of the Goat, says leading Chinese linguist (2015) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, Raymond Zhou on the Year of the Sheep (13 February 2015) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Jiemian, Does the zodiac change how many babies are born? (2024, in Chinese) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2002 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2003 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2004 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2014 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2015 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2016 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
Update log. 31 October 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 15 January 2027. Suggest a correction