Year of the Dragon (辰): Personality, Compatibility & Years

Born in the Year of the Dragon? Personality, love, career, compatibility, lucky tips and a full list of years, from the Japanese and Chinese zodiac.

At a glance

Order
5 / 12 · Tatsu (辰)
Branch element
Earth
Yin / Yang
Yang
Direction
East-southeast
Hours
07:00–09:00

Personality

The Dragon is the only mythical animal of the twelve. The character 辰 describes the vigorous movement of plants in full growth.

Strengths

Ambitious, charismatic and lucky. You dream big and inspire others.

Watch out for

Pride can make it hard to accept help, and you may expect too much of people around you.

Love

Generous and dramatic in love. You want a partner you can admire.

Work

Management, politics, the arts and any stage where vision is needed.

Compatibility

Best matches (trine)
Monkey · Rat
Natural ally (six harmonies)
Rooster
Clash (handle with care)
Dog

Based on the classical relationships between the twelve branches: the trine (three harmonies), the six harmonies and the six clashes.

Years of the Dragon

1928Yang Earth Dragon (戊辰)
1940Yang Metal Dragon (庚辰)
1952Yang Water Dragon (壬辰)
1964Yang Wood Dragon (甲辰)
1976Yang Fire Dragon (丙辰)
1988Yang Earth Dragon (戊辰)
2000Yang Metal Dragon (庚辰)
2012Yang Water Dragon (壬辰)
2024Yang Wood Dragon (甲辰)

Each year begins at Risshun (around 4 February), the start of spring in the solar calendar. In China and Korea the animal is popularly counted from Lunar New Year instead, so people born between January and mid-February may see a different animal elsewhere.

Lucky tips

Dragons are guardians of water in Japanese temples. Water features and blue-green tones support you.

Find your animal by date of birth