Born in 1993: the Rooster

Anyone born in 1993 is a Water Rooster. The year's traditional two-part name is 癸酉 (guǐyǒu), number 10 in the 60-year cycle, and it is a yin year, the quieter, more reflective half of the cycle. The base Rooster traits (observant, hardworking, direct) come filtered through an adaptable, perceptive and persuasive Water tone.

The 1993 lunar year ran from January 23, 1993 up to the day before Chinese New Year 1994 (February 10, 1994). If you were born on or after January 23, 1993 you are a Rooster; if you were born earlier in 1993, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Monkey. Someone born in 1993 turns 33 in 2026 (or 32 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 1993's Chinese New Year fell on a Saturday, and that lunar year ran 383 days — a long, 13-month year with an inserted leap month.

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 Rooster year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 1993 was 1933, and the next is 2053. People born in it are said to combine observant and hardworking with the element's adaptable nature. Every Rooster year is yin (the quieter, inward type). See the Water element and the full Water Rooster profile.

1993 at a glance

Animal	🐓 Rooster (鸡)
Element	Water
Yin or yang	yin
Traditional year name	癸酉 (guǐyǒu)
Place in the 60-year cycle	10 of 60
Zodiac year runs	January 23, 1993 to February 9, 1994
Age in 2026	32–33
Traditional best match	Dragon
Traditional hardest match	Rabbit
Lucky numbers	5, 7, 8
Lucky colors	gold, brown, yellow

Rooster compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 1993 Rooster gets on best with the Dragon (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Ox and Snake. The hardest pairing is the Rabbit, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Rooster compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 1993 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 1993 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to January 22, 1993	Monkey (the 1992 year)
January 23, 1993 to December 31, 1993	Rooster
January 1, 1994 to February 9, 1994	Rooster (still the 1993 year)
February 10, 1994 onward	Dog (the 1994 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 1993 Rooster

The next own-sign year for someone born in 1993 is 2029, around age 36, then 2041, around age 48. 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: 1993 and 1992

Water years come in pairs. 1993 is the yin year and 1992 is the yang year, the Monkey. So a 1993 Rooster and a 1992 Monkey share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Rooster and Monkey pairing as moderate: it has no special bond or conflict, so how well it goes depends on the two people more than on the calendar. See the Rooster and Monkey pairing.

Other Rooster years

1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 2005 2017 2029 2041

Full Rooster personality profile →   Rooster compatibility with every sign →

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

What a Water year changes for the Rooster

Talking. The Water element shows up in how a 1993 Rooster speaks: it gets more strategic about it, choosing words to manage how the other person reacts. Another element on the same animal would sound different.

Work. In 1993 the Water element deepens and adds subtlety to the Rooster's habits at work, so this version runs things with more patience for reading the room than most. It changes the style, not the choice of career.

Love. A 1993 Rooster shows affection in quieter, more perceptive ways. That follows from the element: water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability.

For the sign as a whole (how the Rooster communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Rooster profile. This page covers what is different about 1993.

Known Roosters

Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Gwen Stefani are among the names most often cited as Roosters, though none of them was born in the 1993 lunar year. They're referenced here as examples of the animal's observant streak generally, not proof of what a Water Rooster specifically looks like.