Birth year lookup
1984: what element and Vietnamese zodiac sign?
People born in 1984 have the element Metal (nạp âm Hải Trung Kim (Gold in the Sea)) and are Giáp Tý, Year of the Rat. The Giáp Tý year runs from Tết on 2 February 1984 to 20 January 1985. Born from 1 January 1984 to 1 February 1984? That is Quý Hợi, not Giáp Tý.
| Stem-branch | Giáp Tý |
|---|---|
| Animal sign | Rat (Tý) |
| Nạp âm element | Hải Trung Kim (Gold in the Sea), element Metal |
| Colours (Five Elements belief) | white, silver grey, metallic; yellow, earth brown (Earth colours) |
| Lunar year in solar dates | 2 February 1984 to 20 January 1985 |
| Kua, male | Đoài (Dui), West group |
| Kua, female | Cấn (Gen), West group |
| Age in 2026 | 42, East Asian age 43 |
What if you were born in January or February 1984?
The sign follows the lunar year, which turns at Tết, not on 1 January. Anyone born from 1 January 1984 to 1 February 1984 still belongs to the Quý Hợi year (1983); anyone born from 1 January 1985 to 20 January 1985 still belongs to Giáp Tý. Convert a birth date to the lunar calendar.
How old is someone born in 1984 in 2026?
Someone born in the solar year 1984 turns 42 on their birthday in 2026. The East Asian (tuổi mụ) age of Giáp Tý in 2026 is 43: it counts one year at birth and adds one at every Tết.
What is the Kua of someone born in 1984?
Under the Eight Mansions (Bát Trạch) school, a man born in Giáp Tý has the Kua Đoài (Dui), West 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 1984 in folk belief?
In the Five Elements convention common in Vietnam, Hải Trung Kim (Gold in the Sea) belongs to Metal, so it is said to suit white, silver grey, metallic, and the colours of Earth, the element that generates Metal: yellow, earth brown. The directions of Metal are West, Northwest; trades usually assigned to it are metalwork and machinery, finance and banking, jewellery, cars and motorbikes. 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 Giáp Tý 1984, and which to avoid?
In the Vietnamese folk table, Tý is in Three Harmony with Thân, Thìn and Six Harmony with Sửu; it clashes with Ngọ and is harmed by Mùi.
| Relation | Match or avoid | Sign | Birth years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Harmony | Match | Thân (Monkey) | 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 |
| Three Harmony | Match | Thìn (Dragon) | 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 |
| Six Harmony | Match | Sửu (Ox) | 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Four Clash (direct clash) | Avoid | Ngọ (Horse) | 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Mão (Cat) | 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Dậu (Rooster) | 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 |
| Six Harms | Avoid | Mùi (Goat) | 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 |
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.