--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 2023? Year of the Water Rabbit" description: "2023 is the Year of the Water Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, from January 22, 2023 to February 9, 2024. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2023 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 2023? Year of the Water Rabbit In Chinese astrology, 2023 is the Year of the Water Rabbit, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 22, 2023 and ended on February 9, 2024, so people born in 2023 before Jan 22 belong to the Water Tiger year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Rabbit · Water · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 22, 2023 | | Ends | February 9, 2024 | | Born in 2023 before Jan 22 | Water Tiger (the 2022 year) | | Rabbit's fixed element | Wood (Water generates Wood) | | Other Water Rabbit years (1924-2044) | 1963 | | Stem-branch name | Gui-Mao | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Sunday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 7 | ## 2023 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Water Rabbit year on January 22, 2023, and the year ran to February 9, 2024. So a birth date of Jan 22, 2023 or later counts as Water Rabbit, and so do early 2024 birthdays through Feb 9; births in 2023 before Jan 22 still belong to the Water 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: 1963 are Water Rabbit years too. That Sunday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Water Rabbit is like Quiet mornings and gentle company suit this most receptive of Rabbits. Since Water generates Wood, readings describe a dreamy, kind and intuitive character who keeps the peace at almost any cost. Those born now notice everything. Raising small problems early and setting decision deadlines help their perceptiveness turn into creative and caring work. A well-chosen book or a walk in the rain is often all they need to recover. In classical thought, Water belongs to the north and to the deep, resting energy of winter, the season when life gathers strength out of sight. As a year stem, it tends to make an animal more reflective, adaptable and emotionally attuned. People born under a Water stem are often described as clever negotiators, sensitive friends and natural mediators who prefer influence to force. They value understanding and tend to think before they act. The caution traditionally attached to Water is fluidity taken too far: avoiding conflict, keeping too much hidden and losing a clear sense of their own direction. ## 2023 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year reduces to 7, the number of reflection, analysis and inner work, giving a 7 year a quieter, more searching character. The digits of 2023 add up to 7. The Rabbit holds the fourth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Wood. Set beside the year's Water stem, water generates Wood, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Water Tiger and the year after is the Wood Dragon. Chinese almanacs name 2023 Gui-Mao, pairing the Water stem Gui 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 2023? 2023 is the Year of the Water Rabbit. It started on January 22, 2023 and ended on February 9, 2024. ### What if I was born in January or February 2023? Check the date against Jan 22. Born before January 22, 2023, you are a Water Tiger; born on or after it, you are a Water Rabbit. ### What element is 2023 in the Chinese zodiac? Water, 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 2023? Gui-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 Water Rabbit year? 2083, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1963. ## Related pages - [Water Rabbit](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/water-rabbit) - [Rabbit](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/rabbit) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [2022 (Water Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2022) - [2024 (Wood Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2024) - [2011 (Metal Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2011) - [2035 (Wood Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2035) - [1963 (Water Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1963) - [1999 (Earth Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1999) - [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.