1938 — Year of the Tiger 虎 戊寅

1938 is the year of the Tiger 虎 — year pillar 戊寅, Yang Earth. Every date on this page is computed by the same astronomical kernel that powers our public API, to the minute.

Lichun 1938-02-04 19:15:03 · CNY 1938-01-31 · engine 0.1.0

The two-calendar window in 1938

In 1938, Chinese New Year 正月初一 falls first (1938-01-31) and Lichun 立春 4 days later (1938-02-04). Anyone born inside that 4-day window gets a different zodiac animal and year pillar depending on which convention their tool follows — BaZi practice switches at the exact Lichun instant (1938-02-04 19:15:03, Beijing), folk calendar practice at the new moon. This is not an edge case we gloss over — it is the single most common source of wrong zodiac years, and our engine comparison tool shows it live with three engines side by side.

Your Kua number for 1938

Born inside 1938 (after Lichun)? Your Ming Gua: male (2000 − 1938) mod 9 = 8 → Gen 艮 · female (1938 − 2000 + 6) mod 9 = 7 → Dui 兑. Born before Lichun? The formula runs on 1937 — the Kua calculator applies the boundary for your exact birthday.

FAQ

When does the year of the Tiger (戊寅) start and end?

By the exact Lichun instant: from 1938-02-04 19:15:03 Beijing to the Lichun of 1939. By the lunar calendar: from Chinese New Year (1938-01-31) to the next new-year new moon. The two definitions disagree about 4 days of 1938 — see the window note above.

Is 1938 a leap month year?

Yes — the lunar year 1938 has 13 months with a leap month 7 閏7月, computed by the GB/T 33661-2017 rules (no-zhongqi method, with the 2033-type edge cases handled).

What is my Kua number if I was born in 1938?

For births after Lichun: male 8 (艮), female 7 (兑). Births before the exact Lichun instant belong to 1937 and use that year in the formula — most online calculators get early-February birthdays wrong here.

Tools for this year

All 24 solar terms of 1938 · Almanac for Chinese New Year (1938-01-31) · Kua number calculator · Four-pillar chart · All Tiger years