Someone born in January 1983 — Dog or Pig?

Dog. The Pig year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1983, 17:39 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Water Dog year 壬戌. Chinese New Year 1983 fell on 13 February 1983, 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.

Why is 1983 called a Water Pig twice over?

Because both halves of the pillar carry the same element. The stem 癸 is Yin Water, and the branch 亥 — the Pig itself — is fixed as Water in the branch tables. 1983 is one of the years where the two agree, which is why tables that read the stem and tables that read the branch both print Water Pig. Its na yin, a third and older system, reads 大海水 (Water).

How old is someone born in 1983 in 2027?

43–44 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 45 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. 1983 is one of 8 Pig 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.

1983 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Pig (癸亥)

癸亥 Gui Hai · Yin Water over the Pig's Water branch · number 60 of 60

1983 was a 癸亥 (Gui Hai) year — the 60th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Water Pig year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 癸 (Yin Water); the branch 亥, the Pig itself, carries Water whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 大海水 — a Water na yin.

The 1983 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1983, 17:39 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1984, 4 Feb 1984, 23:18 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1983 fell on 13 February 1983, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1983 should check the table below before claiming a sign.

1983 is one of 8 Pig years between 1924 and 2027, and the only Water Pig year in that span, because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 癸亥 pillar last stood in 1923 and returns in 2043.

Which sign a 1983 birthday belongs to

Two rows, one boundary: the zodiac year turns at Lichun, not at midnight on 1 January and not at Chinese New Year.
Born between (Beijing time)	Stem and branch	Sign	Why
1 January 1983, 00:00 → 4 February 1983, 17:39	壬戌	Water Dog	Still the Dog year that opened in 1982.
4 February 1983, 17:39 → 31 December 1983, 23:59	癸亥	Water Pig	The Pig year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1984.

Born on 1 January 1983? That is a Dog, not a Pig: the Water Dog year 壬戌 ran on until 4 February 1983 at 17:39 Beijing time.

Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1983 it fell at 17:39 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Pig year, so a birth at 17:39 on that day is already a Pig. 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 癸亥 pillar

Every row is computed: the stem and branch from the Lichun boundary, the na yin from the sixty-cycle table, both dates from the Chinese calendar itself.
	1983
Stem and branch	癸亥 (Gui Hai)
Place in the sixty-year cycle	60 of 60
Heavenly stem	癸 — Yin Water 水
Earthly branch	亥 — the Pig 猪, fixed element Water 水
Na yin (纳音)	大海水 — a Water na yin
Lichun (start of the zodiac year)	4 Feb 1983, 17:39 (Beijing time, UTC+8)
Chinese New Year	13 February 1983
Same pillar last seen / next seen	1923 / 2043

Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 癸亥 belongs to 1923, 1983 and 2043 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 Pig

Water Pig (Gui Hai) doubles the element and is the sixtieth and last combination of the whole cycle, which the tradition treats as a completing pairing. The texts read it as the most emotionally open and least defended of the five: empathy, imagination and a strong pull towards care work, with the clearest warning about boundaries — water at its deepest, shaped only by whatever it is poured into.

Five stems above one branch: the animal returns every twelve years, the exact pillar only every sixty, so the five variants are not evenly spread across any span shorter than that.
Variant	Stem and branch	Pig years 1924–2027
Wood Pig	乙亥	1935, 1995
Fire Pig	丁亥	1947, 2007
Earth Pig	己亥	1959, 2019
Metal Pig	辛亥	1971
Water Pig	癸亥	1983

Every Pig year from 1924 to 2027

Born in 1983: the 2027 Goat year

The Tai Sui relationship and the lucky element belong to the sign, not to the birth year, so every Goat year on this site reads the same here; the ages do not.
	Pig born 1983
Age at Lichun 2027	43–44
Nominal age 虚岁	45
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	Metal · white, gold · 4, 9 · West

At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1983 is 43 if their birthday has not yet come round and 44 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 45 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 Pig in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Pig profile.

Frequently asked questions

Someone born in January 1983 — Dog or Pig?: Dog. The Pig year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1983, 17:39 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Water Dog year 壬戌. Chinese New Year 1983 fell on 13 February 1983, 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.
Why is 1983 called a Water Pig twice over?: Because both halves of the pillar carry the same element. The stem 癸 is Yin Water, and the branch 亥 — the Pig itself — is fixed as Water in the branch tables. 1983 is one of the years where the two agree, which is why tables that read the stem and tables that read the branch both print Water Pig. Its na yin, a third and older system, reads 大海水 (Water).
How old is someone born in 1983 in 2027?: 43–44 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 45 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. 1983 is one of 8 Pig 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.