Born in 2022: the Tiger

Anyone born in 2022 is a Water Tiger. The year's traditional two-part name is 壬寅 (rényín), number 39 in the 60-year cycle, and it is a yang year, the active, outgoing half of the cycle. The base Tiger traits (brave, confident, competitive) come filtered through an adaptable, perceptive and persuasive Water tone.

The 2022 lunar year ran from February 1, 2022 up to the day before Chinese New Year 2023 (January 22, 2023). If you were born on or after February 1, 2022 you are a Tiger; if you were born earlier in 2022, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Ox. Someone born in 2022 turns 4 in 2026 (or 3 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 2022's Chinese New Year fell on a Tuesday, and that lunar year ran 355 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 Tiger year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 2022 was 1962, and the next is 2082. People born in it are said to combine brave and confident with the element's adaptable nature. Every Tiger year is yang (the active, outgoing type). See the Water element and the full Water Tiger profile.

2022 at a glance

Animal	🐅 Tiger (虎)
Element	Water
Yin or yang	yang
Traditional year name	壬寅 (rényín)
Place in the 60-year cycle	39 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 1, 2022 to January 21, 2023
Age in 2026	3–4
Traditional best match	Pig
Traditional hardest match	Monkey
Lucky numbers	1, 3, 4
Lucky colors	blue, gray, orange

Tiger compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 2022 Tiger gets on best with the Pig (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Horse and Dog. The hardest pairing is the Monkey, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Tiger compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 2022 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 2022 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to January 31, 2022	Ox (the 2021 year)
February 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022	Tiger
January 1, 2023 to January 21, 2023	Tiger (still the 2022 year)
January 22, 2023 onward	Rabbit (the 2023 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 2022 Tiger

The next own-sign year for someone born in 2022 is 2034, around age 12, then 2046, 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: 2022 and 2023

Water years come in pairs. 2022 is the yang year and 2023 is the yin year, the Rabbit. So a 2022 Tiger and a 2023 Rabbit share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Tiger and Rabbit 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 Tiger and Rabbit pairing.

Other Tiger years

1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 2034

Full Tiger personality profile →   Tiger compatibility with every sign →

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

What a Water year changes for the Tiger

Talking. The Water element shows up in how a 2022 Tiger 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 2022 the Water element deepens and adds subtlety to the Tiger'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 2022 Tiger 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 Tiger communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Tiger profile. This page covers what is different about 2022.

Known Tigers

Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Penélope Cruz, Lady Gaga are among the names most often cited as Tigers, though none of them was born in the 2022 lunar year. They're referenced here as examples of the animal's brave streak generally, not proof of what a Water Tiger specifically looks like.