1933 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Rooster (癸酉)
癸酉 Gui You · Yin Water over the Rooster's Metal branch · number 10 of 60
1933 was a 癸酉 (Gui You) year — the 10th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Water Rooster year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 癸 (Yin Water); the branch 酉, the Rooster itself, carries Metal whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 剑锋金 — a Metal na yin.
The 1933 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1933, 14:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1934, 4 Feb 1934, 20:03 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1933 fell on 26 January 1933, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1933 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1933 is one of 8 Rooster years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Water Rooster years in that span (1933 and 1993), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 癸酉 pillar last stood in 1873 and returns in 1993.
Which sign a 1933 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1933, 00:00 → 4 February 1933, 14:09 | 壬申 | Water Monkey | Still the Monkey year that opened in 1932. |
| 4 February 1933, 14:09 → 31 December 1933, 23:59 | 癸酉 | Water Rooster | The Rooster year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1934. |
Born on 1 January 1933? That is a Monkey, not a Rooster: the Water Monkey year 壬申 ran on until 4 February 1933 at 14:09 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1933 it fell at 14:09 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Rooster year, so a birth at 14:09 on that day is already a Rooster. Convert your own birth moment to Beijing time first — a birth in the Americas on the previous evening can already be past Lichun in Beijing. Check an exact birth date and time.
The 癸酉 pillar
| 1933 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 癸酉 (Gui You) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 10 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 癸 — Yin Water 水 |
| Earthly branch | 酉 — the Rooster 鸡, fixed element Metal 金 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 剑锋金 — a Metal na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1933, 14:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 26 January 1933 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1873 / 1993 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 癸酉 belongs to 1873, 1933 and 1993 and to no year in between. That is why a sixtieth birthday is traditionally marked: it is the year the whole pillar comes back.
The Water Rooster
Water Rooster (Gui You) has Metal producing Water, the output relationship, and the reading is exactness turned into communication: writing, analysis, explanation, the ability to make a precise thing intelligible. Gui You is the most reflective of the five and the least combative. The caution is that the branch spends itself producing, so this variant is advised to protect its own reserves.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Rooster years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Rooster | 乙酉 | 1945, 2005 |
| Fire Rooster | 丁酉 | 1957, 2017 |
| Earth Rooster | 己酉 | 1969 |
| Metal Rooster | 辛酉 | 1981 |
| Water Rooster | 癸酉 | 1933, 1993 |
Every Rooster year from 1924 to 2027
- 1933Water Rooster · this page
- 1945Wood Rooster
- 1957Fire Rooster
- 1969Earth Rooster
- 1981Metal Rooster
- 1993Water Rooster
- 2005Wood Rooster
- 2017Fire Rooster
Born in 1933: the 2027 Goat year
| Rooster born 1933 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 93–94 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 95 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | None |
| Traditional reading | Steady — no direct relationship with the Tai Sui |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Water · black, blue · 1, 6 · North |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1933 is 93 if their birthday has not yet come round and 94 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 95 once New Year 2027 has passed.
The full reading — the month-by-month table, the five-element relationship with the year stem and the traditional remedies — is on Rooster in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Rooster profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1933 — Monkey or Rooster?
- Monkey. The Rooster year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1933, 14:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Water Monkey year 壬申. Chinese New Year 1933 fell on 26 January 1933, which is a different boundary again; classical chart work uses Lichun. Convert your birth moment to Beijing time before comparing it, because the Chinese calendar is defined on that meridian.
- Is 1933 a Water Rooster or a Metal Rooster?
- Water Rooster, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1933 is 癸 — Yin Water. The Metal belongs to the branch 酉, the Rooster's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Rooster year to the next. So 1933 is a Water stem sitting over a metal branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 剑锋金.
- How old is someone born in 1933 in 2027?
- 93–94 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 95 by the nominal count (虚岁) that starts at one and rises at each Chinese New Year. The two answers differ because the ordinary count waits for the birthday and the nominal one does not. 1933 is one of 8 Rooster years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — None — but each is a different age.