1939 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Rabbit (己卯)
己卯 Ji Mao · Yin Earth over the Rabbit's Wood branch · number 16 of 60
1939 was a 己卯 (Ji Mao) year — the 16th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Earth Rabbit year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 己 (Yin Earth); the branch 卯, the Rabbit itself, carries Wood whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 城头土 — an Earth na yin.
The 1939 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1939, 01:10 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1940, 5 Feb 1940, 07:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1939 fell on 19 February 1939, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1939 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1939 is one of 9 Rabbit years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Earth Rabbit years in that span (1939 and 1999), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 己卯 pillar last stood in 1879 and returns in 1999.
Which sign a 1939 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1939, 00:00 → 5 February 1939, 01:10 | 戊寅 | Earth Tiger | Still the Tiger year that opened in 1938. |
| 5 February 1939, 01:10 → 31 December 1939, 23:59 | 己卯 | Earth Rabbit | The Rabbit year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1940. |
Born on 1 January 1939? That is a Tiger, not a Rabbit: the Earth Tiger year 戊寅 ran on until 5 February 1939 at 01:10 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1939 it fell at 01:10 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Rabbit year, so a birth at 01:10 on that day is already a Rabbit. 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 己卯 pillar
| 1939 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 己卯 (Ji Mao) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 16 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 己 — Yin Earth 土 |
| Earthly branch | 卯 — the Rabbit 兔, fixed element Wood 木 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 城头土 — an Earth na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 5 Feb 1939, 01:10 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 19 February 1939 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1879 / 1999 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 己卯 belongs to 1879, 1939 and 1999 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 Earth Rabbit
Earth Rabbit (Ji Mao) sets Earth under Wood, the element the branch controls, which the texts read as a Rabbit with a practical target for its diplomacy. It is the variant linked with property, hospitality and steady household management, and the one most likely to convert social skill into assets. The caution is a tendency to measure relationships by what they secure.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Rabbit years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Rabbit | 乙卯 | 1975 |
| Fire Rabbit | 丁卯 | 1927, 1987 |
| Earth Rabbit | 己卯 | 1939, 1999 |
| Metal Rabbit | 辛卯 | 1951, 2011 |
| Water Rabbit | 癸卯 | 1963, 2023 |
Every Rabbit year from 1924 to 2027
- 1927Fire Rabbit
- 1939Earth Rabbit · this page
- 1951Metal Rabbit
- 1963Water Rabbit
- 1975Wood Rabbit
- 1987Fire Rabbit
- 1999Earth Rabbit
- 2011Metal Rabbit
- 2023Water Rabbit
Born in 1939: the 2027 Goat year
| Rabbit born 1939 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 87–88 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 89 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Three Harmony 三合 |
| Traditional reading | Favourable — supported by the Tai Sui |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Wood · green, teal · 3, 8 · East |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1939 is 87 if their birthday has not yet come round and 88 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 89 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 Rabbit in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Rabbit profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1939 — Tiger or Rabbit?
- Tiger. The Rabbit year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1939, 01:10 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Tiger year 戊寅. Chinese New Year 1939 fell on 19 February 1939, 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 1939 an Earth Rabbit or a Wood Rabbit?
- Earth Rabbit, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1939 is 己 — Yin Earth. The Wood belongs to the branch 卯, the Rabbit's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Rabbit year to the next. So 1939 is an Earth stem sitting over a wood branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 城头土.
- How old is someone born in 1939 in 2027?
- 87–88 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 89 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. 1939 is one of 9 Rabbit years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Three Harmony 三合 — but each is a different age.