--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1938? Year of the Earth Tiger" description: "1938 is the Year of the Earth Tiger in the Chinese zodiac, from January 31, 1938 to February 18, 1939. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1938 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1938? Year of the Earth Tiger In Chinese astrology, 1938 is the Year of the Earth Tiger, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 31, 1938 and ended on February 18, 1939, so people born in 1938 before Jan 31 belong to the Fire Ox year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Tiger · Earth · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 31, 1938 | | Ends | February 18, 1939 | | Born in 1938 before Jan 31 | Fire Ox (the 1937 year) | | Tiger's fixed element | Wood (Wood controls Earth) | | Other Earth Tiger years (1924-2044) | 1998 | | Stem-branch name | Wu-Yin | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Monday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 3 | ## When the 1938 Earth Tiger year starts and ends The 1938 Earth Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on January 31, 1938 and lasted until February 18, 1939, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Jan 31 1938 therefore belongs to the Fire Ox year that started in 1937, while someone born in early 1939, up to Feb 18, is still a Earth Tiger. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, which is why the start date moves between January 21 and February 20 instead of staying on January 1. The same Earth Tiger combination also falls in 1998, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1938 fell on a Monday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Earth Tiger personality Earth Tiger years are associated with brave but practical people who plan before they leap. The Tiger's Wood works on Earth in the controlling cycle, which readings interpret as courage shaping solid ground. Those born then are often responsible and dependable in a crisis. The usual caution is frustration with slow progress and a tendency to over-plan while opportunities pass. Earth sits at the centre of the five-element wheel, and an Earth year is traditionally said to give any animal steadiness, patience and a practical turn of mind. Descriptions associate it with reliability, honesty and a talent for holding things together, whether that means a family, a budget or a team in a difficult season. Earth-year people are often portrayed as grounded, fair and good at turning ideas into workable plans. The element is linked with nourishment and care, so it carries a quiet generosity. Its shadow, in most readings, is heaviness: worry, stubbornness and a reluctance to move until every risk has been weighed twice. ## 1938 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the digits of this year reduce to 3, associated with expression, creativity and sociability, so a 3 year is described as lively and communicative. The digits of 1938 add up to 21, which reduces to 3. In the twelve-year cycle the Tiger is the third animal, earthly branch Yin, with Wood as its fixed element and Yang polarity. The year element is Earth, and in the five-element cycles wood controls Earth. The year before was the Fire Ox and the year after is the Earth Rabbit. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Wu-Yin: Wu is the Earth heavenly stem and Yin is the Tiger's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yang stems only ever meet yang animals. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1938? 1938 is the Year of the Earth Tiger. It started on January 31, 1938 and ended on February 18, 1939. ### What if I was born in January or February 1938? Check the date against Jan 31. Born before January 31, 1938, you are a Fire Ox; born on or after it, you are a Earth Tiger. ### What element is 1938 in the Chinese zodiac? Earth, a Yang year. The Tiger's own fixed element is Wood; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1938? Wu-Yin. The first part is the heavenly stem, which carries the year's element and polarity; the second is the earthly branch, which carries the animal. Almanacs, calendars and Four Pillars charts identify years this way rather than by animal alone. ### When is the next Earth Tiger year? 1998, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1998. ## Related pages - [Earth Tiger](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/earth-tiger) - [Tiger](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/tiger) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1937 (Fire Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1937) - [1939 (Earth Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1939) - [1926 (Fire Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1926) - [1950 (Metal Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1950) - [1998 (Earth Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1998) - [1962 (Water Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1962) - [Chinese zodiac calculator](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac-calculator) - [Chinese zodiac](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac) ## About Unified Reading Unified Reading combines Pythagorean numerology, the Western Sun sign (Moon and rising with a birth time), the Chinese zodiac and life-stage context in one reading. The preview is free at https://unifiedreading.com/#details; the full reading is $4.99, paid once through Stripe, with no subscription. A fictional sample is at https://unifiedreading.com/sample. With a birth time and place it adds whole sign houses and the chart ruler; it does not calculate planetary aspects or transits, and it is a framework for reflection, not a prediction.