Birth year lookup
1981: what element and Vietnamese zodiac sign?
People born in 1981 have the element Wood (nạp âm Thạch Lựu Mộc (Wood of the Pomegranate)) and are Tân Dậu, Year of the Rooster. The Tân Dậu year runs from Tết on 5 February 1981 to 24 January 1982. Born from 1 January 1981 to 4 February 1981? That is Canh Thân, not Tân Dậu.
| Stem-branch | Tân Dậu |
|---|---|
| Animal sign | Rooster (Dậu) |
| Nạp âm element | Thạch Lựu Mộc (Wood of the Pomegranate), element Wood |
| Colours (Five Elements belief) | green, verdant green; blue, black (Water colours) |
| Lunar year in solar dates | 5 February 1981 to 24 January 1982 |
| Kua, male | Khảm (Kan), East group |
| Kua, female | Cấn (Gen), West group |
| Age in 2026 | 45, East Asian age 46 |
What if you were born in January or February 1981?
The sign follows the lunar year, which turns at Tết, not on 1 January. Anyone born from 1 January 1981 to 4 February 1981 still belongs to the Canh Thân year (1980); anyone born from 1 January 1982 to 24 January 1982 still belongs to Tân Dậu. Convert a birth date to the lunar calendar.
How old is someone born in 1981 in 2026?
Someone born in the solar year 1981 turns 45 on their birthday in 2026. The East Asian (tuổi mụ) age of Tân Dậu in 2026 is 46: it counts one year at birth and adds one at every Tết.
What is the Kua of someone born in 1981?
Under the Eight Mansions (Bát Trạch) school, a man born in Tân Dậu has the Kua Khảm (Kan), East group; a woman Cấn (Gen), West group. The Kua is worked out from the lunar year and sex, and is used to choose a house facing. See the eight directions for a Kua.
Which colours, directions and trades go with 1981 in folk belief?
In the Five Elements convention common in Vietnam, Thạch Lựu Mộc (Wood of the Pomegranate) belongs to Wood, so it is said to suit green, verdant green, and the colours of Water, the element that generates Wood: blue, black. The directions of Wood are East, Southeast; trades usually assigned to it are timber and furniture, farming and forestry, education, paper and publishing. This is convention, not calculation: the books differ on colours and trades, and no study has shown that choosing by element changes outcomes. A house facing under Bát Trạch is worked out from the Kua above, not from the element. Kua and directions by birth year.
Which signs match Tân Dậu 1981, and which to avoid?
In the Vietnamese folk table, Dậu is in Three Harmony with Tỵ, Sửu and Six Harmony with Thìn; it clashes with Mão and is harmed by Tuất.
| Relation | Match or avoid | Sign | Birth years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Harmony | Match | Tỵ (Snake) | 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 |
| Three Harmony | Match | Sửu (Ox) | 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Six Harmony | Match | Thìn (Dragon) | 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Tý (Rat) | 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Ngọ (Horse) | 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Four Clash (direct clash) | Avoid | Mão (Cat) | 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
| Six Harms | Avoid | Tuất (Dog) | 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 |
The Three Harmonies, Six Combinations, Four Clashes and Six Harms table is a common folk convention, not the only reckoning. The Four Clashes in groups of four is a Vietnamese folk way of matching ages; the old texts call only the six opposite pairs a clash. Some schools also weigh the Heavenly Stems and the Na Yin element before calling a pair harmonious or clashing.