Rat (zodiac)

The Rat is the first of the 12-year cycle of the animal that appears in the Chinese zodiac in relation to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rat is associated with Earthly Branches.

Rat (zodiac)
"Rat" in regular Chinese characters
Chinese	鼠
Transcriptions Hakka - Romanization chhú Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin shǔ - Wade–Giles shu3 - IPA [ʂù] Min - Hokkien POJ chhú Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping syu2 - IPA [sy̌ː] - Yale Romanization syú

Years and the Five Elements

Sexagenary cycle years

People born within these dates can be said to be born in the "Year of the Rat", while carrying the following elemental sign The following is a chart of the Gregorian calendar dates, of those born in the year of the rat.

Start date	End date	Heavenly branch
11 February 1804	30 January 1805	Wood Rat
23 January 1816	16 January 1817	Fire Rat
14 February 1828	3 January 1829	Earth Rat
2 February 1840	22 January 1841	Metal Rat
20 February 1852	3 February 1853	Water Rat
8 February 1864	26 January 1865	Wood Rat
26 January 1876	12 February 1877	Fire Rat
12 February 1888	30 January 1889	Earth Rat
31 January 1900	18 February 1901	Metal Rat
18 February 1912	5 February 1913	Water Rat
5 February 1924	23 January 1925	Wood Rat
24 January 1936	10 February 1937	Fire Rat
10 February 1948	28 January 1949	Earth Rat
28 January 1960	14 February 1961	Metal Rat
15 February 1972	2 February 1973	Water Rat
2 February 1984	19 February 1985	Wood Rat
19 February 1996	6 February 1997	Fire Rat
7 February 2008	25 January 2009	Earth Rat
25 January 2020	11 February 2021	Metal Rat
11 February 2032	30 January 2033	Water Rat
30 January 2044	16 February 2045	Wood Rat
15 February 2056	3 February 2057	Fire Rat
3 February 2068	22 January 2069	Earth Rat
22 January 2080	8 February 2081	Metal Rat
7 February 2092	26 January 2093	Water Rat

Chinese Zodiac Rat Compatibility Grid

Sign	Best Match	Average Match	No Match
Rat	Rat, Dragon, Monkey and Ox	The: Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Dog, Pig	Horse & Rooster

Falling Stars and difficulties

Sign	Most fortunate	Good luck	Luck standard	No luck
Rat	Dragon, Monkey, Ox, Sheep	Chicken, Pig, Snake	Rabbit, Rat	Horse, Tiger, Dog

Basic elements of astrology

Earthly Branches Of Birth Year:	Zi
The Five Elements:	Fire
Yin Yang:	Yang
Lunar Month:	Eleventh
Lucky Number:	2, 3, 6, 8; Avoid: 4, 5, 9
Lucky Flower:	Lily of every species
Lucky Color:	gold, blue, green; Avoid: yellow, brown
Season:	Winter
Nearest Western Zodiac:	Sagittarius