2019 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Pig (己亥)
己亥 Ji Hai · Yin Earth over the Pig's Water branch · number 36 of 60
2019 was a 己亥 (Ji Hai) year — the 36th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Earth Pig year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 己 (Yin Earth); the branch 亥, the Pig itself, carries Water whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 平地木 — a Wood na yin.
The 2019 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2019, 11:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 2020, 4 Feb 2020, 17:03 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 2019 fell on 5 February 2019, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 2019 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
2019 is one of 8 Pig years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Earth Pig years in that span (1959 and 2019), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 己亥 pillar last stood in 1959 and returns in 2079.
Which sign a 2019 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2019, 00:00 → 4 February 2019, 11:14 | 戊戌 | Earth Dog | Still the Dog year that opened in 2018. |
| 4 February 2019, 11:14 → 31 December 2019, 23:59 | 己亥 | Earth Pig | The Pig year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 2020. |
Born on 1 January 2019? That is a Dog, not a Pig: the Earth Dog year 戊戌 ran on until 4 February 2019 at 11:14 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 2019 it fell at 11:14 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Pig year, so a birth at 11:14 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 己亥 pillar
| 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 己亥 (Ji Hai) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 36 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 己 — Yin Earth 土 |
| Earthly branch | 亥 — the Pig 猪, fixed element Water 水 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 平地木 — a Wood na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 2019, 11:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 5 February 2019 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1959 / 2079 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 己亥 belongs to 1959, 2019 and 2079 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 Pig
Earth Pig (Ji Hai) puts Earth over Water, the controlling relationship, and is the most grounded version of the sign: practical generosity, property, food, the household economy. The banks are built, so the water stays where it is put. The caution is stubbornness dressed as hospitality — an insistence on providing in the way the sign prefers.
| 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
- 1935Wood Pig
- 1947Fire Pig
- 1959Earth Pig
- 1971Metal Pig
- 1983Water Pig
- 1995Wood Pig
- 2007Fire Pig
- 2019Earth Pig · this page
Born in 2019: the 2027 Goat year
| Pig born 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 7–8 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 9 |
| 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 2019 is 7 if their birthday has not yet come round and 8 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 9 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 2019 — Dog or Pig?
- Dog. The Pig year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2019, 11:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Dog year 戊戌. Chinese New Year 2019 fell on 5 February 2019, 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 2019 an Earth Pig or a Water Pig?
- Earth Pig, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 2019 is 己 — Yin Earth. The Water belongs to the branch 亥, the Pig's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Pig year to the next. So 2019 is an Earth stem sitting over a water branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 平地木.
- How old is someone born in 2019 in 2027?
- 7–8 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 9 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. 2019 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.