2023 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Water Rabbit

When did the 2023 Year of the Rabbit 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 2023 that date was January 22, 2023.

Because Lunar New Year (Jan 22) came before Ipchun (Feb 4) in 2023, babies born from Jan 22 to Feb 3 are Rabbits by the popular zodiac but still have a 壬寅 (Water Tiger) year pillar in a Korean Saju or Chinese Bazi chart.

Water Rabbit 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. 2023 is stem 癸 (Gye / Guǐ, Yin Water) on branch 卯 (Myo, the Rabbit), number 40 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Water Rabbit” rather than just “Rabbit”.

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 Rabbit itself carries Wood as its fixed element, so this year blends water energy with wood qualities.

The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 2022 and 2023 are Gold Leaf Metal (金箔金), pictured as gold beaten into thin leaf: refinement, taste and value that shines when it is applied to something else.

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

2023 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 2023 is called the year of the 검은 토끼띠 (black rabbit). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 2023 counts as u (卯, Rabbit) regardless of the lunar date. Vietnam swaps the Rabbit for the Cat, so this is a Cat year (năm Mão/Mèo) there.

2023 Water Rabbit personality traits (traditional)

Keywords: gentle, elegant, diplomatic, cautious + wisdom, adaptability and communication

Rabbit years are traditionally read as kind, tactful and refined. Rabbits are said to dislike conflict, to have good taste and to notice the mood of a room long before others do.

The Rabbit is linked with the Moon in East Asian folklore, where a rabbit pounds rice cakes or elixir. Vietnam replaces the Rabbit with the Cat, so a 1987 or 1999 baby there is a Cat year child.

Where the Water element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Water Rabbit is perceptive, diplomatic, adaptable. Compared with the Metal Rabbit of 2011 and the Wood Rabbit of 2035, the 2023 version is read as the most adaptable and diplomatic Rabbit.

In love: Romantic and considerate, preferring harmony and a peaceful home; Rabbits need reassurance and a partner who avoids drama. At work: Suited to design, the arts, counselling, diplomacy, education, hospitality, healthcare and anything that values tact and taste.

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

2023 Rabbit 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 Rabbit born in 2023, the nearest-age examples are:

Korean folk matchmaking (gunghap, 궁합) also watches for wonjin (원진) pairs, said to breed resentment; for the Rabbit that partner is the Monkey. See the full 12×12 compatibility chart or the Year of the Rabbit 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 2023 Rabbit

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 토끼띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.

2027 Year of the Fire Goat: outlook for people born in 2023

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 Rabbit:

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 4, focus on study, friendships and healthy routines.
• 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 2023? (2026 and 2027)

The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (癸卯) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 2023 it falls in 2083. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2093 and palsun (80th) in 2103.

All Rabbit years and the years around 2023

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

Neighbouring birth years

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