Born in 1943: the Goat

1943 is a yin year, a Water Goat. In the traditional calendar it carries the two-part name 癸未 (guǐwèi), year 20 of the 60-year cycle. The Water element adds an adaptable, perceptive and persuasive streak to the Goat's base character (gentle, creative, empathetic), and this is the quieter, more reflective half of the cycle.

The 1943 lunar year ran from February 5, 1943 up to the day before Chinese New Year 1944 (January 25, 1944). If you were born on or after February 5, 1943 you are a Goat; if you were born earlier in 1943, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Horse. Someone born in 1943 turns 83 in 2026 (or 82 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 1943's Chinese New Year fell on a Friday, and that lunar year ran 354 days — an ordinary 12-month lunar year.

What the Water element adds

Water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability. A Water year makes an animal more intuitive and persuasive, better at reading people and bending around obstacles rather than confronting them head-on.

The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Water Goat year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 1943 was 1883, and the next is 2003. People born in it are said to combine gentle and creative with the element's adaptable nature. Every Goat year is yin (the quieter, inward type). See the Water element and the full Water Goat profile.

1943 at a glance

Animal	🐐 Goat (羊)
Element	Water
Yin or yang	yin
Traditional year name	癸未 (guǐwèi)
Place in the 60-year cycle	20 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 5, 1943 to January 24, 1944
Age in 2026	82–83
Traditional best match	Horse
Traditional hardest match	Ox
Lucky numbers	3, 4, 9
Lucky colors	green, red, purple

Goat compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 1943 Goat gets on best with the Horse (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Rabbit and Pig. The hardest pairing is the Ox, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Goat compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 1943 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 1943 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to February 4, 1943	Horse (the 1942 year)
February 5, 1943 to December 31, 1943	Goat
January 1, 1944 to January 24, 1944	Goat (still the 1943 year)
January 25, 1944 onward	Monkey (the 1944 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 1943 Goat

The next own-sign year for someone born in 1943 is 2027, around age 84, then 2039, around age 96. Tradition calls this your běnmìngnián. Despite being "your" year, it is thought to clash with Tài Suì (the God of Age) and to carry a higher chance of setbacks, so many people wear red through it for protection.

The element pair: 1943 and 1942

Water years come in pairs. 1943 is the yin year and 1942 is the yang year, the Horse. So a 1943 Goat and a 1942 Horse share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Goat and Horse pairing as excellent: one of the six classic 'secret friend' pairings — a naturally supportive, stabilizing match. See the Goat and Horse pairing.

Other Goat years

1931 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 2027 2039

Full Goat personality profile →   Goat compatibility with every sign →

Know your exact birth date? Use the calculator for your full combination →

What a Water year changes for the Goat

Talking. In conversation, a Water Goat gets more strategic about it, choosing words to manage how the other person reacts, which is the main way 1943's version differs from the same animal born under another element.

Work. Water deepens and adds subtlety to the Goat's usual working style, so a 1943 Goat tends to run things with more patience for reading the room than most. The kind of work the sign suits stays the same; the element changes how the job gets done.

Love. Water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability, so in a relationship a Water Goat shows affection in quieter, more perceptive ways.

For the sign as a whole (how the Goat communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Goat profile. This page covers what is different about 1943.

Known Goats

Mick Jagger was born in the 1943 lunar year, an exact Water Goat match for this page. Other well-known Goats, from other years, include Bill Gates, Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman. A shared sign says nothing about how anyone's life goes; these are simply familiar names to put to the sign.