1998 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Tiger

When did the 1998 Year of the Tiger 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 1998 that date was January 28, 1998.

Because Lunar New Year (Jan 28) came before Ipchun (Feb 4) in 1998, babies born from Jan 28 to Feb 3 are Tigers by the popular zodiac but still have a 丁丑 (Fire Ox) year pillar in a Korean Saju or Chinese Bazi chart.

Earth Tiger 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. 1998 is stem 戊 (Mu / Wù, Yang Earth) on branch 寅 (In, the Tiger), number 15 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Earth Tiger” rather than just “Tiger”.

Reading the element. Earth is the element of the centre and of harvest. Earth years are read as patient, realistic and dependable, with a talent for mediating and keeping a group together. Tradition notes a tendency to worry, to resist change and to keep feelings to oneself for too long. For a Earth year the keywords are stability, practicality and trust. The Tiger itself carries Wood as its fixed element, so this year blends earth energy with wood qualities.

The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 1998 and 1999 are City Wall Earth (城頭土), pictured as the rammed earth of a city wall: protection, structure and a sense of duty toward a community.

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

1998 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 1998 is called the year of the 황금 호랑이띠 (yellow (gold) tiger). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 1998 counts as tora (寅, Tiger) regardless of the lunar date. Vietnam uses the same animal for this year.

1998 Earth Tiger personality traits (traditional)

Keywords: brave, confident, competitive, generous + stability, practicality and trust

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 Earth element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Earth Tiger is reliable, patient, grounded. Compared with the Fire Tiger of 1986 and the Metal Tiger of 2010, the 1998 version is read as the steadiest and most practical 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.

1998 Tiger 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 Tiger born in 1998, the nearest-age examples are:

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 and colours for the 1998 Tiger

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 황금 호랑이띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.

2027 Year of the Fire Goat: outlook for people born in 1998

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 Earth Tiger:

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 generates Earth, so for an Earth-year sign the Fire Goat year is traditionally supportive: help from mentors, study, documents and recognition. The Goat itself is also an Earth branch, a double dose of the familiar.

Practical, non-mystical ways to use the 2027 reading

• Set two or three concrete goals for 2027; a neutral year rewards plans more than luck.
• At 29, 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 1998? (2026 and 2027)

The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (戊寅) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 1998 it falls in 2058. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2068 and palsun (80th) in 2078.

All Tiger years and the years around 1998

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

Neighbouring birth years

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