Chinese zodiac worksheet

The twelve animals, in order

The Chinese zodiac (生肖 shēngxiào) gives every year one of twelve animals, always in the same order. The cycle repeats every twelve years, so a child born in 2024 is a Dragon, and so is anyone born in 2012 or 2000. The chart below lists each animal with its pinyin, its number of strokes and the years it covers from 1980 to 2031. Tap a character to see its stroke order animation and example words.

One thing catches families out: the zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. A child born in January or early February belongs to the previous year's animal. For example, the Year of the Goat begins on 6 February 2027, so a baby born on 1 February 2027 is still a Horse.

2027 is the Year of the Goat

羊 yáng can mean goat, sheep or ram, and you will see all three in English. It is one of the easiest characters in the zodiac: six strokes, and you can still see the animal in it. The two dots at the top are the horns and the horizontal lines are the body. Use the “2027 羊年” button to print 羊年快乐 (Happy Year of the Goat) for cards and red envelopes.

Where the characters come from

Telling the story behind a character helps children remember it. The zodiac is a good place to start, because many of these characters began as pictures of the animal:

• 牛 ox and 羊 goat were drawn as an animal's head seen from the front. In 牛 you can still see the horns, in 羊 the curled horns and the face.
• 马 horse is a simplified form of 馬, which shows the head, the mane blowing back, and four legs underneath.
• 鼠 rat started as a picture of a rat with sharp front teeth and a long tail. That is why it has 13 strokes, more than any other zodiac animal.
• 虎 tiger, 兔 rabbit and 龙 dragon were also pictures. Ask your child to find the rabbit's tail: it is the last dot of 兔.
• 狗 dog, 猴 monkey and 猪 pig share the radical 犭 on the left, which marks animals. The right side hints at the sound. Print them together with the “犭 animals” button.
• 蛇 snake has 虫, the radical for insects and creeping creatures. 鸡 rooster ends in 鸟, bird.

Which animals to start with

The characters range from 3 strokes (马) to 13 (鼠). For a child who is just starting to write, print the “Easy first” set: 马, 牛, 羊, 龙 and 鸡. Children aged seven and up who already know a few characters can do the whole set, six animals at a time. The hardest are 鼠, 猴, 蛇 and 猪, so leave them for the end or print them with five tracing boxes and large squares.

Activities to go with the worksheet

1. A family zodiac chart. Look up everyone's birth year in the table, then let your child write each person's animal next to their name: 爸爸 属虎, 妈妈 属兔, 我 属马.
2. Say “I am a…”. In Chinese you say 我属马 (wǒ shǔ mǎ), “I belong to the horse”. The “我属…” button prints these characters; swap 马 for your child's own animal.
3. The Great Race. Tell the story of the race the Jade Emperor held to choose the twelve animals. The clever rat rode on the ox's back and jumped ahead at the finish, which is why the rat comes first. After the story, ask your child to write the animals in the order they finished.
4. A zodiac wheel. Draw a circle, divide it into twelve slices and write one animal in each, going clockwise from 鼠.

Want the festival greetings, red envelopes and New Year food as well? They are on the Chinese New Year worksheet. For pets, farm animals and wild animals beyond the zodiac, see the animals worksheet.

Questions parents ask

Is it the Year of the Goat or the Year of the Sheep?

Both. The Chinese word 羊 covers goats and sheep, so English sources use either. Many families in China picture a goat or a sheep depending on where they live.

Why is there no cat?

Traditional Chinese folk tales say the rat tricked the cat into missing the race. In Vietnam's version of the zodiac, the cat takes the rabbit's place.

Can I print traditional characters?

Yes. Four of the animals look different in traditional Chinese: 龍 dragon, 馬 horse, 雞 rooster and 豬 pig. Type them into the box above, for example 鼠牛虎兔龍蛇馬羊猴雞狗豬, and the worksheet uses traditional forms where stroke data is available.

How to print this worksheet

1. Pick a set with the buttons above, or type your own characters into the box.
2. Choose A4 or US Letter to match your printer paper.
3. Press Print or save as PDF. In the print window choose your printer, or “Save as PDF” to keep a copy.

Your settings are saved in the page address, so you can bookmark it or send the link to another parent or teacher and they will see the same worksheet.

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