Chinese zodiac by birth year · 1950 · Updated 3 Nov 2026 · Hong Life
If you were born between Feb 17, 1950 and Feb 5, 1951, your Chinese zodiac sign is the Tiger — more precisely the Yang Metal Tiger (庚寅). Births earlier in 1950, from January 1 to Feb 16, 1950, still belong to the previous sign, the Yin Earth Ox (1949).
Personality, compatibility and luck readings below are cultural tradition, shared for entertainment.
The Chinese zodiac does not change on January 1. It follows the lunisolar calendar, so each animal year starts at Lunar New Year, the second new moon after the winter solstice, which always lands between January 21 and February 20. For 1950 that date was February 17, 1950.
| Chinese Lunar New Year (start of the Tiger year) | Feb 17, 1950 |
|---|---|
| Last day of the Tiger year | Feb 5, 1951 |
| Korean Seollal (설날) | Feb 17, 1950 (same day) |
| Vietnamese Tết | Feb 17, 1950 (same day) |
| Ipchun / Lichun 立春 (Saju & Bazi year change) | Feb 4, 1950, 18:20 Korea time (Feb 4 17:20 Beijing) |
| Japan (eto 干支 by calendar year) | Jan 1 – Dec 31, 1950 |
In 1950 Ipchun (Feb 4) came before Lunar New Year (Feb 17), so babies born from Feb 4 to Feb 16 have a 庚寅 (Metal Tiger) year pillar in Saju but are still Oxs in the popular zodiac.
Every year in the 60-year cycle pairs one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches. 1950 is stem 庚 (Gyeong / Gēng, Yang Metal) on branch 寅 (In, the Tiger), number 27 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Metal Tiger” rather than just “Tiger”.
| Heavenly stem | 庚 Gyeong · Metal 金 |
|---|---|
| Earthly branch | 寅 In · Tiger |
| Yin or yang | Yang (Yang years end in an even digit) |
| Fixed element of the Tiger | Wood (木) |
| Nayin (納音) sound element | Pine & Cypress Wood 松柏木 (Korean 송백목) |
| Same pair repeats | 1890, 1950, 2010 |
Reading the element. Metal is the element of autumn and of cutting away what is unnecessary. Metal years are linked with willpower, self-discipline, loyalty and a strong sense of right and wrong. The traditional caution is rigidity: Metal can seem cool, blunt or unwilling to compromise. For a Metal year the keywords are determination, principle and clarity. The Tiger itself carries Wood as its fixed element, so this year blends metal energy with wood qualities.
The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 1950 and 1951 are Pine & Cypress Wood (松柏木), pictured as pine and cypress that stay green in winter: endurance, integrity and strength that shows in hard times.
The same 庚寅 pair is also a Saju day pillar; see the Gyeong-In day-pillar article for how the combination is read when it appears on the day of birth.
| Tradition | Name of 1950 | Year starts |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 庚寅 Gēng Yín · Metal Tiger year | Feb 17, 1950 |
| Korean 띠 (ddi) | 경인년 (Gyeong-In) · 흰 호랑이띠 | Seollal Feb 17; Saju: Ipchun Feb 4 |
| Japanese 干支 (eto) | kanoe-tora · 庚寅 | Jan 1, 1950 |
| Vietnamese con giáp | Canh Dần · Dần (Hổ, tiger) | Tết Feb 17 |
Koreans often name the year with a colour taken from the stem element: Wood years are blue-green (청), Fire red (적), Earth yellow or golden (황), Metal white (백) and Water black (흑). That is why 1950 is called the year of the 흰 호랑이띠 (white tiger). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 1950 counts as tora (寅, Tiger) regardless of the lunar date. Vietnam uses the same animal for this year.
Keywords: brave, confident, competitive, generous + determination, principle and clarity
Tiger years are read as courageous, energetic and independent. Tigers are said to love a challenge, stand up for the underdog and lead naturally, sometimes before checking who is following.
The tiger was revered across Korea, China and Vietnam as the king of the mountains and a protector against evil, which is why tiger paintings were hung at the New Year. The Tiger month opens the solar year at Ipchun (Start of Spring).
Where the Metal element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Metal Tiger is disciplined, loyal, decisive. Compared with the Earth Tiger of 1938 and the Water Tiger of 1962, the 1950 version is read as the most determined and principled Tiger.
In love: Passionate and generous, with grand gestures; Tigers need a partner who respects their independence and can match their energy. At work: At home in leadership, entrepreneurship, advocacy, sport, the military, emergency services and any role that needs nerve.
Zodiac personality descriptions are folklore. Real personality is shaped by upbringing, culture and choices, and people born in the same year differ enormously.
Classical compatibility looks at how the two birth-year branches relate on the zodiac wheel. Signs four places apart form a Three Harmony trine, specific pairs form a Six Harmony, and signs directly opposite each other clash. For a Tiger born in 1950, the nearest-age examples are:
| Sign | Rating | Nearby birth years | Why (tradition) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pig | Best match | 1947, 1959 | A Six Harmony pair: tradition calls these "secret friends" who quietly complete each other. |
| Horse | Great match | 1942, 1954 | Both belong to the Fire trine (Tiger, Horse, Dog), sharing goals and a similar pace. |
| Dog | Great match | 1946, 1958 | Both belong to the Fire trine (Tiger, Horse, Dog), sharing goals and a similar pace. |
| Tiger | Same sign | 1938, 1962 | Same sign: easy understanding and shared habits, with the risk of shared blind spots. |
| Snake | Challenging | 1941, 1953 | Both a Harm and a Punishment pair: misunderstandings build up unless both stay very direct. |
| Monkey | Most challenging | 1944, 1956 | Opposite signs that also form a punishment pair: strong attraction, frequent power struggles. |
Korean folk matchmaking (gunghap, 궁합) also watches for wonjin (원진) pairs, said to breed resentment; for the Tiger that partner is the Rooster. See the full 12×12 compatibility chart or the Year of the Tiger guide. A real compatibility reading in Saju compares all eight characters of both charts, not just the year animal.
| Lucky numbers (popular list) | 1, 3, 4 |
|---|---|
| Lucky colours (popular list) | blue, grey, orange |
| Five-element colour of 1950 | white — from the Metal stem 庚 |
| Element that supports Metal | Earth (generates Metal) → colour yellow |
| Direction of the Tiger | East-northeast |
| Tiger hour | 03:00–05:00 |
Two different ideas get mixed together online. The “lucky numbers and colours” lists are a modern popular folklore that varies from one website to another. The five-element colours are older: they come from the correspondence of Wood–green, Fire–red, Earth–yellow, Metal–white and Water–black, which is also behind Korean names such as 흰 호랑이띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.
2027 is Jeongmi (丁未), the Yin Fire Goat — called the “red sheep” year (붉은 양띠) in Korea. In the Chinese calendar it begins on Feb 6, 2027 and ends on Jan 25, 2028; Korea celebrates Seollal on Feb 7, 2027 because the new moon falls just after midnight Korea time. For Saju, the year pillar changes at Ipchun on Feb 4, 2027 at about 10:46 KST. Tradition reads 2027 as a neutral year for the Metal Tiger:
| Animal vs. Goat | No special relationship with the Goat · Neutral |
|---|---|
| Element vs. Fire stem | Fire controls Metal |
| Age during 2027 | 77 |
| Next Tiger year | 2034 |
Your sign has no classical harmony or clash with the Goat, so 2027 is read as a "neutral" year in which results depend on your own effort and on the rest of your chart rather than on the year sign.
Fire melts Metal, so the year’s energy "controls" your element. Tradition reads it as a year of pressure and responsibility that can bring promotion or new titles if you stay disciplined and pace yourself.
For a personalised version that uses your birth month, day and hour, see the 2027 Korean horoscope and the 2027 Year of the Goat guide.
| Age | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| International age after birthday | 76 | 77 |
| Before birthday | 75 | 76 |
| Traditional Korean count age (unofficial) | 77 | 78 |
The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (庚寅) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 1950 it falls in 2010 — already celebrated. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2020 and palsun (80th) in 2030.
The Tiger returns every 12 years, but the element changes each time, so the same Metal Tiger element comes back only every 60 years.
| Year | Sign | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Wood Tiger 甲寅 | Jan 26, 1914 – Feb 13, 1915 |
| 1926 | Fire Tiger 丙寅 | Feb 13, 1926 – Feb 1, 1927 |
| 1938 | Earth Tiger 戊寅 | Jan 31, 1938 – Feb 18, 1939 |
| 1950 | Metal Tiger 庚寅 | Feb 17, 1950 – Feb 5, 1951 |
| 1962 | Water Tiger 壬寅 | Feb 5, 1962 – Jan 24, 1963 |
| 1974 | Wood Tiger 甲寅 | Jan 23, 1974 – Feb 10, 1975 |
| 1986 | Fire Tiger 丙寅 | Feb 9, 1986 – Jan 28, 1987 |
| 1998 | Earth Tiger 戊寅 | Jan 28, 1998 – Feb 15, 1999 |
| 2010 | Metal Tiger 庚寅 | Feb 14, 2010 – Feb 2, 2011 |
| 2022 | Water Tiger 壬寅 | Feb 1, 2022 – Jan 21, 2023 |
1950 is the Year of the Yang Metal Tiger (庚寅, Gēng Yín). The year began at Lunar New Year on Feb 17, 1950 and ended on Feb 5, 1951, so people born in that window are Tigers. This is cultural tradition, shared for entertainment.
Only if you were born on or after Feb 17, 1950. Births from January 1 to Feb 16, 1950 belong to the Yin Earth Ox of 1949. Korean Saju uses a different boundary, Ipchun on Feb 4, 1950 (Korea time), for the year pillar.
Traditionally the Pig is the best match (Six Harmony), followed by the Horse and Dog (Three Harmony). The Monkey is the opposite, clashing sign, and the Snake forms a Harm pair.
Someone born in 1950 turns 76 during 2026 and 77 during 2027 (international age; before the birthday they are a year younger). Korea’s traditional count age would add one year, but it has not been used officially since June 2023.
No special relationship with the Goat. Fire melts Metal, so the year’s energy "controls" your element. Tradition reads it as a year of pressure and responsibility that can bring promotion or new titles if you stay disciplined and pace yourself. Read it as cultural tradition for fun, not as a prediction.
In Korean, 1950 is 경인-nyeon (경인년, Gyeong-In), the year of the 호랑이, so people born then are 흰 호랑이띠 — literally a white tiger, from the Metal colour of the Metal stem.
The year animal is only one of the eight characters in a Korean Saju (Four Pillars) chart. Enter your birth date and time to see your month, day and hour pillars, five-element balance and 2027 forecast.
Open the free Korean Saju calculator →Everything on this page about personality, compatibility and luck is cultural tradition for entertainment.