Tiger strengths in tradition
- Brave and willing to act
- Confident and charismatic
- Generous and protective
- Sets its own course
2022 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Water Tiger
The 2022 Chinese year ran from Tuesday 1 February 2022 to Saturday 21 January 2023.
Its sign is the Yang Water Tiger: 壬寅 (Rén-yín) in the 60-year cycle.
Born 1–31 January 2022? Then you belong to the previous Chinese year: the Metal Ox of 2021.
Chinese New Year or Lichun?
Most calendars change the animal at Chinese New Year. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology starts the year at Lichun, the Start of Spring, instead. For births around the turn of the year the two counts differ:
- 1–3 February 2022: Water Tiger by Chinese New Year, Metal Ox by Lichun.
- 4 February 2022 (Lichun day): by Lichun, Metal Ox before 04:50 China time and Water Tiger from then on; by Chinese New Year, Water Tiger.
Dates and times in China time. The Chinese zodiac calculator converts them for your birthplace and shows both counts.
The Water Tiger in Chinese astrology
A Water Tiger is associated with a calmer, more reflective style, adding intuition and diplomacy to the Tiger's confidence.
The Tiger is the third Chinese zodiac animal, associated in tradition with courage, confidence and a strong sense of independence. Water is the element of depth and adaptability, linked in Chinese tradition with winter, intuition and quiet wisdom.
Tiger challenges in tradition
- Can act on impulse
- Chafes at rules and routine
- Quick to take offence
- Tends to push too hard
Traditions, not predictions. The Tiger in love and at work · The five elements
Other Tiger years
The Water Tiger every 60 years
Questions and answers
What Chinese zodiac is 2022?
2022 is the Year of the Water Tiger (yang Water, 壬寅 Rén-yín), from 1 February 2022 to 21 January 2023. Anyone born 1–31 January 2022 belongs to the previous Chinese year, the Metal Ox.
What element is 2022 in the Chinese zodiac?
Water, in its yang form: the year’s Heavenly Stem is 壬 (Rén). Water years are years ending in 2 or 3 – counted by the Chinese year, which begins in late January or February.
I was born in January or early February 2022 — which animal am I?
If you were born before 1 February 2022, the date of Chinese New Year, your sign is the Metal Ox of the 2021 Chinese year; from 1 February 2022 on, it is the Water Tiger. Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology counts from Lichun instead (4 February 2022, 04:50 China time).
When was Chinese New Year 2022?
It was on Tuesday 1 February 2022 (China time). The next one, on Sunday 22 January 2023, began the Year of the Water Rabbit.