What is the Chinese zodiac sign for 1942?

1942 is the Year of the Water Horse, a Yang year. It covers people born from Chinese New Year 1942 until the next Chinese New Year.

I was born in January or February 1942. Which animal am I?

Chinese New Year falls in late January or February and moves from year to year. If your birthday is before it, your sign is the previous year's: the Metal Snake. Look up the New Year date for 1942 to be sure.

How are the animal and the element worked out?

The animal comes from a cycle of 12 years and the element from a cycle of 10 years, two years per element. The two cycles line up again every 60 years, so the same animal and element pair returns after 60 years.

Is the Chinese zodiac the same as my Western zodiac sign?

No. The Chinese zodiac goes by birth year, while the Western sign goes by birth day and month. You have one of each, and the zodiac sign calculator shows the Western one.

Is this free? Do I need to sign up?

Yes, it is free. No signup, no login, no app install. The API and MCP server are free too.

Chinese zodiac 1942: the Water Horse

1942 is the Year of the Water Horse in the Chinese zodiac. Chinese New Year falls in late January or February, so anyone born before it that year belongs to the previous year's sign: the Metal Snake of 1941.

1942: Water Horse

Born in January or February? Check the date of Chinese New Year for 1942. Before that date your sign is the Metal Snake.

Chinese zodiac facts for 1942
Item	Value
Birth year	1942
Animal	Horse
Element	Water
Yin or Yang	Yang
Sign if born before Chinese New Year	Metal Snake

Chinese zodiac 1942 compatibility

Who is the Chinese zodiac 1942 (Horse) compatible with?: Traditionally the best matches for the Horse are the other two animals in its trine: the Dog and the Tiger. A trine groups the animals that sit four places apart in the 12-year cycle. It is a tradition, not a measured result.

The animal follows a 12-year cycle: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig. The element follows the last digit of the year, two years each: metal, water, wood, fire, earth. Together they repeat every 60 years.

Other Horse years from 1900 to 2026: 1906, 1918, 1930, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026.

The Chinese zodiac goes by birth year. Your Western sign goes by birth day and month. Find it with the zodiac sign calculator.

Animal and element worked out from the standard 12-animal and 10-stem cycles. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac. Checked 2026-11-10.

Common questions

What is the Chinese zodiac sign for 1942?: 1942 is the Year of the Water Horse, a Yang year. It covers people born from Chinese New Year 1942 until the next Chinese New Year.
I was born in January or February 1942. Which animal am I?: Chinese New Year falls in late January or February and moves from year to year. If your birthday is before it, your sign is the previous year's: the Metal Snake. Look up the New Year date for 1942 to be sure.
How are the animal and the element worked out?: The animal comes from a cycle of 12 years and the element from a cycle of 10 years, two years per element. The two cycles line up again every 60 years, so the same animal and element pair returns after 60 years.
Is the Chinese zodiac the same as my Western zodiac sign?: No. The Chinese zodiac goes by birth year, while the Western sign goes by birth day and month. You have one of each, and the zodiac sign calculator shows the Western one.
Is this free? Do I need to sign up?: Yes, it is free. No signup, no login, no app install. The API and MCP server are free too.