Someone born in January 1993 — Monkey or Rooster?

Monkey. The Rooster year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1993, 03:37 (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 1993 fell on 23 January 1993, 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 1993 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 1993 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 1993 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 1993 in 2027?

33–34 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 35 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. 1993 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.

1993 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

1993 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 1993 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1993, 03:37 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1994, 4 Feb 1994, 09:30 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1993 fell on 23 January 1993, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1993 should check the table below before claiming a sign.

1993 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 1933 and returns in 2053.

Which sign a 1993 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 1993, 00:00 → 4 February 1993, 03:37	壬申	Water Monkey	Still the Monkey year that opened in 1992.
4 February 1993, 03:37 → 31 December 1993, 23:59	癸酉	Water Rooster	The Rooster year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1994.

Born on 1 January 1993? That is a Monkey, not a Rooster: the Water Monkey year 壬申 ran on until 4 February 1993 at 03:37 Beijing time.

Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1993 it fell at 03:37 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Rooster year, so a birth at 03:37 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

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.
	1993
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 1993, 03:37 (Beijing time, UTC+8)
Chinese New Year	23 January 1993
Same pillar last seen / next seen	1933 / 2053

Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 癸酉 belongs to 1933, 1993 and 2053 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.

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	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

Born in 1993: 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.
	Rooster born 1993
Age at Lichun 2027	33–34
Nominal age 虚岁	35
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 1993 is 33 if their birthday has not yet come round and 34 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 35 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 1993 — Monkey or Rooster?: Monkey. The Rooster year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1993, 03:37 (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 1993 fell on 23 January 1993, 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 1993 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 1993 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 1993 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 1993 in 2027?: 33–34 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 35 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. 1993 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.