Chinese zodiac sign 3 of 12
Year of the Tiger: personality, love and years
Brave and independent, it throws itself at challenges and carries others along. Years of the Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022.
Tiger
- Yang
- Fixed element: Wood
- In Chinese
- 虎 (hǔ)
- Hour of the Tiger
- 3–5 a.m.
The next Tiger year, the Year of the Wood Tiger, begins on February 19, 2034.
Years of the Tiger with elements and dates
A Year of the Tiger begins on Chinese New Year, not on January 1. If your birthday is in January or February, check your date against the table or enter it in the calculator.
| Year | Sign | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Fire Tiger | 02/13/1926 – 02/01/1927 |
| 1938 | Earth Tiger | 01/31/1938 – 02/18/1939 |
| 1950 | Metal Tiger | 02/17/1950 – 02/05/1951 |
| 1962 | Water Tiger | 02/05/1962 – 01/24/1963 |
| 1974 | Wood Tiger | 01/23/1974 – 02/10/1975 |
| 1986 | Fire Tiger | 02/09/1986 – 01/28/1987 |
| 1998 | Earth Tiger | 01/28/1998 – 02/15/1999 |
| 2010 | Metal Tiger | 02/14/2010 – 02/02/2011 |
| 2022 | Water Tiger | 02/01/2022 – 01/21/2023 |
Tiger personality
The Tiger is a born rebel with a good heart. It doesn't like well-worn paths, readily challenges rules it finds unfair and picks its own battles. It has a lot of warmth and generosity, and its self-confidence gives others courage.
The same energy makes the Tiger impatient and impulsive. It catches fire quickly and gets bored just as fast, and it takes criticism harder than it shows. It needs space and the right to make its own decisions: boxed in by rigid rules, it loses its spark and starts looking for the way out.
Strengths
- Courage and initiative
- Charisma and generosity
- A sense of justice
- Honesty
Weaknesses
- A hot temper
- Impatience with routine
- Trouble taking criticism
The Tiger in love
In love the Tiger is passionate, sincere and generous with grand gestures. It falls hard and enjoys the chase, but it needs a partner who won't fence it in or ask it to account for every hour. It is happiest in a relationship of two independent people who share a lot and still have lives of their own. Jealousy and attempts at control push it away fast.
The Tiger at work and with money
At work the Tiger needs a goal that moves it and the freedom to act. It does well as a leader, entrepreneur, first responder, athlete, lawyer or journalist, wherever courage and quick decisions count. It can rally a team to a big effort. Paperwork and long projects with no visible results are where it struggles.
The Tiger in the five elements
The same sign looks a little different in each element. Your element comes from your birth year, and the years next to each description link to their own pages.
Wood Tiger
1974Wood is the Tiger's fixed element, so the Wood Tiger feels right at home in it. It is creative, open and sociable, and it can give the people around it wings. It has more ideas than time, and what it does least well is finishing what it started with such enthusiasm.
The Fire Tiger is a Tiger with a double dose of energy. It is bold, charismatic and unpredictable, and once it believes in something it carries others along. It has a strong need for independence and handles any form of control badly. But Fire has its price: impulsive decisions and outbursts that someone has to clean up afterward.
Earth reins in the Tiger's impulsiveness and adds realism. The Earth Tiger checks where it will land before it leaps, which makes it a leader people trust. It is responsible and fair. Once it has made up its mind, though, it is hard to talk it into changing course, even when the facts have changed.
The Metal Tiger combines courage with an iron will. It is ambitious, self-assured and unyielding, unafraid of confrontation and steady in going after what it wants. It has strong opinions and a strong sense of justice. Compromise doesn't come easily, and in an argument it can be domineering.
The Water Tiger is the calmest of its family. Water gives it empathy and the ability to listen, so it understands others better and acts on impulse less often. It still loves freedom and challenges, but it picks them with more judgment. On the other hand, it sometimes hesitates where another Tiger would have leaped long ago.
Tiger compatibility: best and worst matches
Trine
The Horse and the Dog share the Tiger's idealism and need for action. The Horse matches its energy, and the Dog brings loyalty and steadiness.
Secret friend
The Pig softens the Tiger's temper and gives it unconditional support. The Tiger, in turn, protects the Pig and lends it courage.
Opposite sign
The Monkey stands opposite the Tiger. Its cleverness and teasing grate on the Tiger's pride, and the Tiger's directness looks naive to the Monkey, so rivalry comes easily.
Tiger lucky numbers and colors
- Lucky numbers
- 1, 3 and 4
- Lucky colors
- blue, gray and orange
This is what popular Chinese tradition says. Different sources list slightly different numbers and colors, so treat them as a fun fact, not a rule.
The Chinese zodiac is a cultural tradition more than two thousand years old, not a science. We calculate the dates and signs precisely, but read the personality descriptions as food for thought, not as a prophecy.
Frequently asked questions
What years are Tiger years in the Chinese zodiac?
Tiger years since 1924 are 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022. The Tiger comes back every 12 years, each time with a different element. The year begins on Chinese New Year, so people born in January and early February may still have the previous year's sign.
When is the next Year of the Tiger?
The next Tiger year, the Year of the Wood Tiger, begins on February 19, 2034.
What are the Tiger's personality traits?
The Tiger is seen as brave, charismatic and independent. It has a strong sense of justice, loves a challenge and fires others up with its enthusiasm. Its weaker side is a hot temper and decisions made before it has thought through the consequences.
Who is the Tiger most compatible with?
By Chinese tradition the Tiger gets along best with the other signs of its trine: the Horse and Dog. Its secret friend is the Pig, and its opposite sign is the Monkey. Tradition expects the most friction from that last pairing, though it doesn't rule the relationship out.
What are the Tiger's lucky numbers and colors?
By popular Chinese tradition the Tiger's lucky numbers are 1, 3 and 4, and its lucky colors are blue, gray and orange. Sources give slightly different sets, so treat them as a fun fact, not a rule.
Is the Tiger yin or yang?
The Tiger is always yang, because all Tiger years are even numbers. Yang is outward energy: active, direct and quick to get things started. The Tiger's fixed element is Wood, though from one Tiger year to the next it takes on each of the five elements in turn.
Your AI forecast for the Year of the Fire Horse
The calculator tells you your sign. In the Sanctuary, AI sets it against the sign of the current year and writes a forecast for you: love, work and money, health, and your lucky months. You get 5 free tokens to start, and a forecast costs 1 token.
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