Our answer
Year of the Horse 属马
Seventh of the 12 zodiac animals
The short answer
2026 is the Year of the Horse (马, mǎ), a Fire Horse year, running from 17 February 2026 to 5 February 2027. The Horse is the seventh of the 12 zodiac animals; other Horse years include 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 and 2014. Tradition calls Horse people energetic, independent and adventurous.
| In Chinese | 马 (mǎ); earthly branch 午 |
|---|---|
| Place in the cycle | Seventh of 12 |
| Recent Horse years | 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Year of the Horse 2026 | 17 Feb 2026 – 5 Feb 2027 (Fire Horse, 丙午) |
| Best matches | Dog, Tiger, Goat; clashes with the Rat |
Year of the Horse: all the years and exact dates
Each Year of the Horse 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Wood Horse (木马) | 3 Feb 1954 | 23 Jan 1955 |
| 1966 | Fire Horse (火马) | 21 Jan 1966 | 8 Feb 1967 |
| 1978 | Earth Horse (土马) | 7 Feb 1978 | 27 Jan 1979 |
| 1990 | Metal Horse (金马) | 27 Jan 1990 | 14 Feb 1991 |
| 2002 | Water Horse (水马) | 12 Feb 2002 | 31 Jan 2003 |
| 2014 | Wood Horse (木马) | 31 Jan 2014 | 18 Feb 2015 |
| 2026 | Fire Horse (火马) | 17 Feb 2026 | 5 Feb 2027 |
Horse personality: traits tradition gives Horse people
Folk tradition says people born in a Horse year are energetic, independent and adventurous, though sometimes impulsive. The lists differ from source to source, and there is no scientific evidence that birth year shapes personality.[2][3][4]
Horse 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 Horse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 三合 (sānhé), trio | Dog and Tiger | Animals four years apart; the most harmonious |
| 六合 (liùhé), pair | Goat | A secret friend; a good match |
| 六冲 (liùchōng), clash | Rat | Six years apart, opposite on the wheel; traditionally avoided |
What the Horse means in Chinese culture
The Horse stands for energy and freedom, and talented people are compared to fine horses. Its branch 午 (wǔ) also means noon. The Han dynasty’s “heavenly horses” were linked to dragons, and from the Tang to the Qing horses were emblems of imperial power.
For 2026 China Post issued its fourth-round Horse stamps on 5 January, in a planned run of 26.68 million sets, and the CCTV Spring Festival Gala chose four horse mascots, including one based on the Han-dynasty bronze Galloping Horse.[4][7][8][9]
What is a Fire Horse year?
Each zodiac year also has one of five elements, so each animal-element pair returns every 60 years. 2026 is 丙午 (bǐngwǔ), a Fire Horse year; the last was 1966.
In Japan an old superstition says Fire Horse women make difficult wives, and in 1966 Japanese births fell to about 1.36 million, around 500,000 fewer than in the year before or after. We found no comparable effect reported for China.[5][10]
How many babies are born in Horse years in China?
| Horse year | Births in China | Year before | Year after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 16.47 million | 17.02 million (2001) | 15.99 million (2003) |
| 2014 | 16.87 million | 16.40 million (2013) | 16.55 million (2015) |
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
When does the Year of the Horse 2026 start and end?
It began on 17 February 2026 (Lunar New Year) and ends on 5 February 2027. The Year of the Goat starts on 6 February 2027.
Is 2026 a Fire Horse year?
Yes. 2026 is 丙午 (bǐngwǔ), a Fire Horse year. The previous Fire Horse year was 1966 and the next is 2086.
What years are the Year of the Horse?
Recent Horse years are 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026; the next is 2038, starting on 4 Feb 2038. Each year starts at Lunar New Year, not 1 January.
What is the Horse compatible with?
Traditionally the Dog and Tiger (its 三合 trio) and the Goat (its 六合 pair). Its clash animal is the Rat.
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: Horse (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
- The Met, Lunar New Year: the horse in Chinese art · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Post, Bingwu Year (Horse) special stamps issued (January 2026) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, 2026 Spring Festival Gala mascots released (18 December 2025, in Chinese) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Nippon.com, Japan’s 1966 “Fire Horse” birth drop · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2001 (births) · 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 2013 (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
- Xinhua via gov.cn, Xi extends Spring Festival greetings; Year of the Horse begins 17 February (14 February 2026) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
Update log. 31 October 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 15 January 2027. Suggest a correction