Born in 2015: the Goat

2015 is a yin year, a Wood Goat. In the traditional calendar it carries the two-part name 乙未 (yǐwèi), year 32 of the 60-year cycle. The Wood element adds a cooperative, growth-minded and quietly generous streak to the Goat's base character (gentle, creative, empathetic), and this is the quieter, more reflective half of the cycle.

The 2015 lunar year ran from February 19, 2015 up to the day before Chinese New Year 2016 (February 8, 2016). If you were born on or after February 19, 2015 you are a Goat; if you were born earlier in 2015, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Horse. Someone born in 2015 turns 11 in 2026 (or 10 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 2015's Chinese New Year fell on a Thursday, and that lunar year ran 354 days — an ordinary 12-month lunar year.

What the Wood element adds

Wood is the element of spring, growth and cooperation. A Wood year tends to soften an animal's sharper edges and push it toward teamwork, patience and building things that last rather than chasing quick wins.

The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Wood Goat year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 2015 was 1955, and the next is 2075. People born in it are said to combine gentle and creative with the element's cooperative nature. Every Goat year is yin (the quieter, inward type). See the Wood element and the full Wood Goat profile.

2015 at a glance

Animal	🐐 Goat (羊)
Element	Wood
Yin or yang	yin
Traditional year name	乙未 (yǐwèi)
Place in the 60-year cycle	32 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 19, 2015 to February 7, 2016
Age in 2026	10–11
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 2015 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 2015 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 2015 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to February 18, 2015	Horse (the 2014 year)
February 19, 2015 to December 31, 2015	Goat
January 1, 2016 to February 7, 2016	Goat (still the 2015 year)
February 8, 2016 onward	Monkey (the 2016 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 2015 Goat

The next own-sign year for someone born in 2015 is 2027, around age 12, then 2039, around age 24. 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: 2015 and 2014

Wood years come in pairs. 2015 is the yin year and 2014 is the yang year, the Horse. So a 2015 Goat and a 2014 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 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 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 Wood year changes for the Goat

Talking. In conversation, a Wood Goat leans further into action, saying yes before thinking it all the way through, which is the main way 2015's version differs from the same animal born under another element.

Work. Wood softens and adds patience to the Goat's usual working style, so a 2015 Goat tends to run things with more willingness to cooperate than most. The kind of work the sign suits stays the same; the element changes how the job gets done.

Love. Wood is the element of spring, growth and cooperation, so in a relationship a Wood Goat shows affection through steady cooperation over time.

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 2015.

Known Goats

Well-known Goats — sharing the animal though not this exact 2015 birth year or Wood element — include Bill Gates, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Mick Jagger. None of the people listed here were born in the 2015 lunar year, but they're commonly cited as examples of the Goat's gentle streak.