--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1999? Year of the Earth Rabbit" description: "1999 is the Year of the Earth Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, from February 16, 1999 to February 4, 2000. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1999 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1999? Year of the Earth Rabbit In Chinese astrology, 1999 is the Year of the Earth Rabbit, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 16, 1999 and ended on February 4, 2000, so people born in 1999 before Feb 16 belong to the Earth Tiger year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Rabbit · Earth · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 16, 1999 | | Ends | February 4, 2000 | | Born in 1999 before Feb 16 | Earth Tiger (the 1998 year) | | Rabbit's fixed element | Wood (Wood controls Earth) | | Other Earth Rabbit years (1924-2044) | 1939 | | Stem-branch name | Ji-Mao | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Tuesday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 1 | ## 1999 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Earth Rabbit year on February 16, 1999, and the year ran to February 4, 2000. So a birth date of Feb 16, 1999 or later counts as Earth Rabbit, and so do early 2000 birthdays through Feb 4; births in 1999 before Feb 16 still belong to the Earth Tiger. That moving boundary comes from the lunisolar calendar, in which the new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, so its Gregorian date shifts by up to a month from one year to the next. Look sixty years either side and the pairing repeats: 1939 are Earth Rabbit years too. That Tuesday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Earth Rabbit is like Those born in an Earth Rabbit year are often portrayed as steady, home-loving diplomats with clear ideas about the life they want. Wood controlling Earth is read as quiet influence over practical matters. They tend to save, plan and tend relationships patiently. Readings suggest small experiments to build confidence, since evidence persuades them more than encouragement does. Friends often rely on their calm advice when tempers fray elsewhere. In classical thought, Earth belongs to the centre and to the late-summer pause between seasons, the point where things ripen and settle. As a year stem, it tends to slow an animal down in a useful way, adding prudence, loyalty and a strong sense of responsibility. People born under an Earth stem are often described as dependable, sensible and protective of the people they love. They value security and tend to build carefully. The caution traditionally attached to Earth is caution itself: overthinking, clinging to the familiar and carrying other people's problems as though they were their own. ## 1999 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year's digits reduce to 1, the number of beginnings, initiative and independence, so numerologists describe a 1 year as one that rewards starting things. The digits of 1999 add up to 28, which reduces to 1. The Rabbit holds the fourth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Wood. Set beside the year's Earth stem, wood controls Earth, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Earth Tiger and the year after is the Metal Dragon. Chinese almanacs name 1999 Ji-Mao, pairing the Earth stem Ji with the branch Mao. Both are Yin, as stem and branch always share a polarity, so of the hundred and twenty possible pairings only sixty ever occur, and each one names a single year in every cycle. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1999? 1999 is the Year of the Earth Rabbit. It started on February 16, 1999 and ended on February 4, 2000. ### What if I was born in January or February 1999? Check the date against Feb 16. Born before February 16, 1999, you are a Earth Tiger; born on or after it, you are a Earth Rabbit. ### What element is 1999 in the Chinese zodiac? Earth, a Yin year. The Rabbit'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 1999? Ji-Mao. 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 Rabbit year? 2059, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1939. ## Related pages - [Earth Rabbit](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/earth-rabbit) - [Rabbit](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/rabbit) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1998 (Earth Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1998) - [2000 (Metal Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2000) - [1987 (Fire Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1987) - [2011 (Metal Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2011) - [1939 (Earth Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1939) - [1975 (Wood Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1975) - [2023 (Water Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2023) - [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.