Born in 2003: the Goat
A Yin Water Goat 🐐
Goats are warm, imaginative, and considerate. They are good listeners with a strong artistic streak and a steady inner calm. As a Water-element year, 2003 adds a adaptable, perceptive and persuasive streak to the usual Goat character.
The 2003 lunar year ran from February 1, 2003 to January 22, 2004. If you were born on or after February 1, 2003 you are a Goat; if you were born earlier in 2003, you belong to the previous year's sign, the Horse.
What the Water element adds
Water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability. A Water year makes an animal more intuitive and persuasive, better at reading people and bending around obstacles rather than confronting them head-on.
The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Water Goat year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 2003 was 1943, and the next is 2063. People born in it are said to combine gentle and creative with the element's adaptable nature. Its Yin/Yang polarity is fixed as Yin for every Goat year. See the Water element and the full Water Goat profile.
2003 at a glance
| Animal | 🐐 Goat (羊) |
|---|---|
| Element | Water |
| Polarity | Yin |
| Best match | Horse |
| Hardest match | Ox |
| Lucky numbers | 3, 4, 9 |
| Lucky colors | green, red, purple |
Goat compatibility
In the traditional chart, a 2003 Goat gets on best with the Horse (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Rabbit and Pig. The hardest pairing is the Ox, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Goat compatibility table.
Your zodiac years
The Goat returns every 12 years, so someone born in 2003 is back in their own zodiac year in 2015, 2027, 2039, 2051 and so on. Tradition calls this your běnmìngnián — despite being "your" year, it is thought to clash with Tài Suì (the God of Age) and to carry a higher chance of setbacks, so many people wear red through it for protection.
Other Goat years
1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2015 2027 2039
Full Goat personality profile → Goat compatibility with every sign →
Know your exact birth date? Use the calculator for your full combination →
Frequently asked questions
What Chinese zodiac sign is 2003?
2003 is the year of the Goat (Water Goat, Yin polarity). Anyone born on or after February 1, 2003 is a Goat; a birthday earlier in 2003 belongs to the previous sign, the Horse.
What element is the 2003 zodiac year?
2003 is a Water-element year. Water is the element of winter, depth and adaptability. A Water year makes an animal more intuitive and persuasive, better at reading people and bending around obstacles rather than confronting them head-on.
Who is a 2003 Goat most compatible with?
Best matches are the Horse (the "secret friend"), plus the Rabbit and Pig. The hardest match is the Ox.
Is 2003 a lucky year to be born in?
Chinese tradition does not rank whole years as lucky or unlucky to be born in — every animal has strengths and weaknesses. The one combination widely treated with caution is the Fire Horse, and 2003 is not a Fire Horse year.