1983 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Pig

When did the 1983 Year of the Pig start and end?

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 1983 that date was February 13, 1983.

In 1983 Ipchun (Feb 4) came before Lunar New Year (Feb 13), so babies born from Feb 4 to Feb 12 have a 癸亥 (Water Pig) year pillar in Saju but are still Dogs in the popular zodiac.

Water Pig meaning: element, yin-yang and nayin

Every year in the 60-year cycle pairs one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches. 1983 is stem 癸 (Gye / Guǐ, Yin Water) on branch 亥 (Hae, the Pig), number 60 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Water Pig” rather than just “Pig”.

Reading the element. Water is the element of winter, depth and flow. Water years are associated with intelligence, intuition, diplomacy and the ability to adapt to any container. Tradition warns of over-flexibility: Water can drift, keep options open too long or hide its real feelings. For a Water year the keywords are wisdom, adaptability and communication. The Pig itself carries Water as its fixed element, so this year blends water energy twice over — a “pure” Water year with its branch.

The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 1982 and 1983 are Great Sea Water (大海水), pictured as the great sea: depth, tolerance and a capacity to take in very different people and ideas.

The same 癸亥 pair is also a Saju day pillar; see the Gye-Hae day-pillar article for how the combination is read when it appears on the day of birth.

1983 in Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese zodiac

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 1983 is called the year of the 검은 돼지띠 (black pig). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 1983 counts as i (亥, Pig) regardless of the lunar date. In Japan the twelfth animal is the wild boar (inoshishi), not the domestic pig.

1983 Water Pig personality traits (traditional)

Keywords: generous, warm-hearted, sincere, easygoing + wisdom, adaptability and communication

Folk readings make the Pig the zodiac’s good-hearted host: trusting, cheerful and tolerant, happiest when everyone at the table is well fed.

The Pig closes the cycle and symbolises wealth and abundance; in Korea dreaming of a pig is a classic sign of luck. In Japan the twelfth sign is the wild boar (inoshishi) rather than the domestic pig.

Where the Water element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Water Pig is perceptive, diplomatic, adaptable. Compared with the Metal Pig of 1971 and the Wood Pig of 1995, the 1983 version is read as the most adaptable and diplomatic Pig.

In love: Affectionate and devoted, putting effort into a comfortable home; Pigs want a sincere partner and dislike game-playing. At work: Suited to hospitality, food, healthcare, charity, education, the arts and roles built on trust.

Zodiac personality descriptions are folklore. Real personality is shaped by upbringing, culture and choices, and people born in the same year differ enormously.

1983 Pig compatibility: best and worst matches

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 Pig born in 1983, the nearest-age examples are:

Korean folk matchmaking (gunghap, 궁합) also watches for wonjin (원진) pairs, said to breed resentment; for the Pig that partner is the Dragon. See the full 12×12 compatibility chart or the Year of the Pig guide. A real compatibility reading in Saju compares all eight characters of both charts, not just the year animal.

Lucky numbers and colours for the 1983 Pig

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 검은 돼지띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.

2027 Year of the Fire Goat: outlook for people born in 1983

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 supportive year for the Water Pig:

Your sign shares the Wood trine (Pig–Rabbit–Goat) with 2027, a traditionally co-operative pairing that favours growth, learning and new networks. In Korean folk practice, though, Pig, Rabbit and Goat are in their final samjae (삼재) year, nal-samjae, so the advice is to finish things cleanly rather than overreach.

Water puts out Fire, so your element is the one in control. In traditional terms the year becomes a "wealth" year: opportunities you have to chase and manage, with gains that reflect the work invested.

Practical, non-mystical ways to use the 2027 reading

• Use the supportive mood to start the collaboration or course you have been postponing.
• At 44, review savings, insurance and career goals with real numbers.
• Use the Saju calculator to see whether 2027 strengthens or drains your day master rather than relying on the year animal alone.

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.

How old is someone born in 1983? (2026 and 2027)

The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (癸亥) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 1983 it falls in 2043. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2053 and palsun (80th) in 2063.

All Pig years and the years around 1983

The Pig returns every 12 years, but the element changes each time, so the same Water Pig element comes back only every 60 years.

Neighbouring birth years

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