Chinese Zodiac Element Combinations: All 60 Animal-Element Signs
The 12 animals are only one layer of the Chinese zodiac. Each year also has a Heavenly Stem, an Earthly Branch, and one of the Five Elements.
This creates 60 unique combinations, from Wood Rat to Water Pig. The same element-animal type returns once every 60 years.
If you want the cultural meaning of the Five Elements themselves, start with The Five Elements in Chinese Zodiac. If you want to check a year-by-year table, use Chinese Zodiac Elements by Year.
How the 60 combinations work
The 60-year cycle is built from 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches. The Earthly Branch gives the animal sign; the Heavenly Stem gives the element and yin-yang tone.
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each element appears in a yin-yang pair of Heavenly Stems.
The same element-animal combination repeats once every 60 years, not every 12 years.
How this page differs from the other element pages
The Five Elements in Chinese Zodiac explains the meanings of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Chinese Zodiac Elements by Year helps readers check animal-and-element labels by year.
This page is the complete 60-combination hub: it shows the full cycle and links out to detailed element-animal pages as they are published.
All 60 Chinese zodiac element-animal combinations
Use this table as the main hub for element-animal pages. Some combinations have detailed pages now; the rest can be expanded later as the site grows.
| # | Combination | Stem-branch | Example years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 木鼠Wood Rat | 甲子 · Jia Zi | 1924 · 1984 · 2044 |
| 2 | 木牛Wood Ox | 乙丑 · Yi Chou | 1925 · 1985 · 2045 |
| 3 | 火虎Fire Tiger | 丙寅 · Bing Yin | 1926 · 1986 · 2046 |
| 4 | 火兔Fire Rabbit | 丁卯 · Ding Mao | 1927 · 1987 · 2047 |
| 5 | 土龙Earth Dragon | 戊辰 · Wu Chen | 1928 · 1988 · 2048 |
| 6 | 土蛇Earth Snake | 己巳 · Ji Si | 1929 · 1989 · 2049 |
| 7 | 金马Metal Horse | 庚午 · Geng Wu | 1930 · 1990 · 2050 |
| 8 | 金羊Metal Goat | 辛未 · Xin Wei | 1931 · 1991 · 2051 |
| 9 | 水猴Water Monkey | 壬申 · Ren Shen | 1932 · 1992 · 2052 |
| 10 | 水鸡Water Rooster | 癸酉 · Gui You | 1933 · 1993 · 2053 |
| 11 | 木狗Wood Dog | 甲戌 · Jia Xu | 1934 · 1994 · 2054 |
| 12 | 木猪Wood Pig | 乙亥 · Yi Hai | 1935 · 1995 · 2055 |
| 13 | 火鼠Fire Rat | 丙子 · Bing Zi | 1936 · 1996 · 2056 |
| 14 | 火牛Fire Ox | 丁丑 · Ding Chou | 1937 · 1997 · 2057 |
| 15 | 土虎Earth Tiger | 戊寅 · Wu Yin | 1938 · 1998 · 2058 |
| 16 | 土兔Earth Rabbit | 己卯 · Ji Mao | 1939 · 1999 · 2059 |
| 17 | 金龙Metal Dragon | 庚辰 · Geng Chen | 1940 · 2000 · 2060 |
| 18 | 金蛇Metal Snake | 辛巳 · Xin Si | 1941 · 2001 · 2061 |
| 19 | 水马Water Horse | 壬午 · Ren Wu | 1942 · 2002 · 2062 |
| 20 | 水羊Water Goat | 癸未 · Gui Wei | 1943 · 2003 · 2063 |
| 21 | 木猴Wood Monkey | 甲申 · Jia Shen | 1944 · 2004 · 2064 |
| 22 | 木鸡Wood Rooster | 乙酉 · Yi You | 1945 · 2005 · 2065 |
| 23 | 火狗Fire Dog | 丙戌 · Bing Xu | 1946 · 2006 · 2066 |
| 24 | 火猪Fire Pig | 丁亥 · Ding Hai | 1947 · 2007 · 2067 |
| 25 | 土鼠Earth Rat | 戊子 · Wu Zi | 1948 · 2008 · 2068 |
| 26 | 土牛Earth Ox | 己丑 · Ji Chou | 1949 · 2009 · 2069 |
| 27 | 金虎Metal Tiger | 庚寅 · Geng Yin | 1950 · 2010 · 2070 |
| 28 | 金兔Metal Rabbit | 辛卯 · Xin Mao | 1951 · 2011 · 2071 |
| 29 | 水龙Water Dragon | 壬辰 · Ren Chen | 1952 · 2012 · 2072 |
| 30 | 水蛇Water Snake | 癸巳 · Gui Si | 1953 · 2013 · 2073 |
| 31 | 木马Wood Horse | 甲午 · Jia Wu | 1954 · 2014 · 2074 |
| 32 | 木羊Wood Goat | 乙未 · Yi Wei | 1955 · 2015 · 2075 |
| 33 | 火猴Fire Monkey | 丙申 · Bing Shen | 1956 · 2016 · 2076 |
| 34 | 火鸡Fire Rooster | 丁酉 · Ding You | 1957 · 2017 · 2077 |
| 35 | 土狗Earth Dog | 戊戌 · Wu Xu | 1958 · 2018 · 2078 |
| 36 | 土猪Earth Pig | 己亥 · Ji Hai | 1959 · 2019 · 2079 |
| 37 | 金鼠Metal Rat | 庚子 · Geng Zi | 1960 · 2020 · 2080 |
| 38 | 金牛Metal Ox | 辛丑 · Xin Chou | 1961 · 2021 · 2081 |
| 39 | 水虎Water Tiger | 壬寅 · Ren Yin | 1962 · 2022 · 2082 |
| 40 | 水兔Water Rabbit | 癸卯 · Gui Mao | 1963 · 2023 · 2083 |
| 41 | 木龙Wood Dragon | 甲辰 · Jia Chen | 1964 · 2024 · 2084 |
| 42 | 木蛇Wood Snake | 乙巳 · Yi Si | 1965 · 2025 · 2085 |
| 43 | 火马Fire Horse | 丙午 · Bing Wu | 1966 · 2026 · 2086 |
| 44 | 火羊Fire Goat | 丁未 · Ding Wei | 1967 · 2027 · 2087 |
| 45 | 土猴Earth Monkey | 戊申 · Wu Shen | 1968 · 2028 · 2088 |
| 46 | 土鸡Earth Rooster | 己酉 · Ji You | 1969 · 2029 · 2089 |
| 47 | 金狗Metal Dog | 庚戌 · Geng Xu | 1970 · 2030 · 2090 |
| 48 | 金猪Metal Pig | 辛亥 · Xin Hai | 1971 · 2031 · 2091 |
| 49 | 水鼠Water Rat | 壬子 · Ren Zi | 1972 · 2032 · 2092 |
| 50 | 水牛Water Ox | 癸丑 · Gui Chou | 1973 · 2033 · 2093 |
| 51 | 木虎Wood Tiger | 甲寅 · Jia Yin | 1974 · 2034 · 2094 |
| 52 | 木兔Wood Rabbit | 乙卯 · Yi Mao | 1975 · 2035 · 2095 |
| 53 | 火龙Fire Dragon | 丙辰 · Bing Chen | 1976 · 2036 · 2096 |
| 54 | 火蛇Fire Snake | 丁巳 · Ding Si | 1977 · 2037 · 2097 |
| 55 | 土马Earth Horse | 戊午 · Wu Wu | 1978 · 2038 · 2098 |
| 56 | 土羊Earth Goat | 己未 · Ji Wei | 1979 · 2039 · 2099 |
| 57 | 金猴Metal Monkey | 庚申 · Geng Shen | 1980 · 2040 · 2100 |
| 58 | 金鸡Metal Rooster | 辛酉 · Xin You | 1981 · 2041 |
| 59 | 水狗Water Dog | 壬戌 · Ren Xu | 1982 · 2042 |
| 60 | 水猪Water Pig | 癸亥 · Gui Hai | 1983 · 2043 |
Year pages still matter
This table explains the cycle. A specific birth date still needs the exact Lunar New Year boundary, especially for January and February birthdays.
How to use this page
This page is best used as a cycle map. It tells you where each animal-element combination sits in the 60-year sequence. It does not replace a birth-year page or calculator when the exact Chinese New Year boundary matters.
Finding all 60 combinations, comparing element-animal labels, and locating detailed combination pages.
Checking whether a January or February birthday belongs to the current zodiac year or the previous one.
Learning what Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water mean as traditional symbolic categories.
Common mistakes about element combinations
- Reading only the animal sign and ignoring the element.
- Assuming all Dragon years, Snake years, or Horse years have the same meaning.
- Translating elements too literally. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water are symbolic phases, not just physical materials.
- Using the Western calendar year without checking Chinese New Year.
- Confusing a 12-year animal return with a full 60-year element-animal return.
Chinese zodiac element combinations FAQ
What are the 60 Chinese zodiac element combinations?
They are the 60 pairings created by combining the 10 Heavenly Stems with the 12 Earthly Branches. In English zodiac writing, they are usually shown as element-animal types such as Fire Horse, Metal Snake, or Wood Dog.
Why are there 60 combinations instead of 12?
The 12 zodiac animals repeat every 12 years, while the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch cycle repeats every 60 years.
Does each element-animal combination return every 60 years?
Yes. A specific combination such as Fire Horse, Metal Snake, or Earth Ox returns once every 60 years.
Should I use this page or a year page?
Use this page to understand the full cycle. Use a year page when you need exact Lunar New Year boundaries for a specific birth year.
Is this the same as Chinese Zodiac Elements by Year?
No. This page lists all 60 element-animal combinations. The Elements by Year page is easier when you want to look up a specific Gregorian year and see its animal, element, and year label.
Next steps
Start with a specific element-animal page, check the year table, or review the Five Elements if you want more cultural background.