Born in 2024: the Dragon

2024 is a yang year, a Wood Dragon. In the traditional calendar it carries the two-part name 甲辰 (jiǎchén), year 41 of the 60-year cycle. The Wood element adds a cooperative, growth-minded and quietly generous streak to the Dragon's base character (ambitious, energetic, charismatic), and this is the active, outgoing half of the cycle.

The 2024 lunar year ran from February 10, 2024 up to the day before Chinese New Year 2025 (January 29, 2025). If you were born on or after February 10, 2024 you are a Dragon; if you were born earlier in 2024, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Rabbit. Someone born in 2024 turns 2 in 2026 (or 1 until their birthday for the year).

Calendar note: 2024's Chinese New Year fell on a Saturday, 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 Dragon year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 2024 was 1964, and the next is 2084. People born in it are said to combine ambitious and energetic with the element's cooperative nature. Every Dragon year is yang (the active, outgoing type). See the Wood element and the full Wood Dragon profile.

2024 at a glance

Animal	🐉 Dragon (龙)
Element	Wood
Yin or yang	yang
Traditional year name	甲辰 (jiǎchén)
Place in the 60-year cycle	41 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 10, 2024 to January 28, 2025
Age in 2026	1–2
Traditional best match	Rooster
Traditional hardest match	Dog
Lucky numbers	1, 6, 7
Lucky colors	gold, silver, gray

Dragon compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 2024 Dragon gets on best with the Rooster (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Rat and Monkey. The hardest pairing is the Dog, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Dragon compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 2024 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 2024 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to February 9, 2024	Rabbit (the 2023 year)
February 10, 2024 to December 31, 2024	Dragon
January 1, 2025 to January 28, 2025	Dragon (still the 2024 year)
January 29, 2025 onward	Snake (the 2025 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 2024 Dragon

The next own-sign year for someone born in 2024 is 2036, around age 12, then 2048, 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: 2024 and 2025

Wood years come in pairs. 2024 is the yang year and 2025 is the yin year, the Snake. So a 2024 Dragon and a 2025 Snake share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Dragon and Snake 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 Dragon and Snake pairing.

Other Dragon years

1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2036

Full Dragon personality profile →   Dragon compatibility with every sign →

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

What a Wood year changes for the Dragon

Talking. In conversation, a Wood Dragon leans further into action, saying yes before thinking it all the way through, which is the main way 2024's version differs from the same animal born under another element.

Work. Wood softens and adds patience to the Dragon's usual working style, so a 2024 Dragon 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 Dragon shows affection through steady cooperation over time.

For the sign as a whole (how the Dragon communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Dragon profile. This page covers what is different about 2024.

Known Dragons

Well-known Dragons — sharing the animal though not this exact 2024 birth year or Wood element — include Bruce Lee, John Lennon, Sandra Bullock, Rihanna. None of the people listed here were born in the 2024 lunar year, but they're commonly cited as examples of the Dragon's ambitious streak.