Birth year lookup
1988: what element and Vietnamese zodiac sign?
People born in 1988 have the element Wood (nạp âm Đại Lâm Mộc (Wood of the Great Forest)) and are Mậu Thìn, Year of the Dragon. The Mậu Thìn year runs from Tết on 17 February 1988 to 5 February 1989. Born from 1 January 1988 to 16 February 1988? That is Đinh Mão, not Mậu Thìn.
| Stem-branch | Mậu Thìn |
|---|---|
| Animal sign | Dragon (Thìn) |
| Nạp âm element | Đại Lâm Mộc (Wood of the Great Forest), element Wood |
| Colours (Five Elements belief) | green, verdant green; blue, black (Water colours) |
| Lunar year in solar dates | 17 February 1988 to 5 February 1989 |
| Kua, male | Chấn (Zhen), East group |
| Kua, female | Chấn (Zhen), East group |
| Age in 2026 | 38, East Asian age 39 |
What if you were born in January or February 1988?
The sign follows the lunar year, which turns at Tết, not on 1 January. Anyone born from 1 January 1988 to 16 February 1988 still belongs to the Đinh Mão year (1987); anyone born from 1 January 1989 to 5 February 1989 still belongs to Mậu Thìn. Convert a birth date to the lunar calendar.
How old is someone born in 1988 in 2026?
Someone born in the solar year 1988 turns 38 on their birthday in 2026. The East Asian (tuổi mụ) age of Mậu Thìn in 2026 is 39: it counts one year at birth and adds one at every Tết.
What is the Kua of someone born in 1988?
Under the Eight Mansions (Bát Trạch) school, a man born in Mậu Thìn has the Kua Chấn (Zhen), East group; a woman Chấn (Zhen), East 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 1988 in folk belief?
In the Five Elements convention common in Vietnam, Đại Lâm Mộc (Wood of the Great Forest) 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 Mậu Thìn 1988, and which to avoid?
In the Vietnamese folk table, Thìn is in Three Harmony with Thân, Tý and Six Harmony with Dậu; it clashes with Tuất and is harmed by Mão.
| Relation | Match or avoid | Sign | Birth years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Harmony | Match | Thân (Monkey) | 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 |
| Three Harmony | Match | Tý (Rat) | 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 |
| Six Harmony | Match | Dậu (Rooster) | 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 |
| Four Clash (direct clash) | Avoid | Tuất (Dog) | 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Sửu (Ox) | 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 |
| Four Clash | Avoid | Mùi (Goat) | 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 |
| Six Harms | Avoid | Mão (Cat) | 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 |
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.