1998 — Year of the Tiger 虎 戊寅

1998 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 1998-02-04 08:56:54 · CNY 1998-01-28 · engine 0.1.0

The two-calendar window in 1998

In 1998, Chinese New Year 正月初一 falls first (1998-01-28) and Lichun 立春 7 days later (1998-02-04). Anyone born inside that 7-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 (1998-02-04 08:56:54, 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 1998

Born inside 1998 (after Lichun)? Your Ming Gua: male (2000 − 1998) mod 9 = 2 → Kun 坤 · female (1998 − 2000 + 6) mod 9 = 4 → Xun 巽. Born before Lichun? The formula runs on 1997 — 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 1998-02-04 08:56:54 Beijing to the Lichun of 1999. By the lunar calendar: from Chinese New Year (1998-01-28) to the next new-year new moon. The two definitions disagree about 7 days of 1998 — see the window note above.

Is 1998 a leap month year?

Yes — the lunar year 1998 has 13 months with a leap month 5 閏5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 1998?

For births after Lichun: male 2 (坤), female 4 (巽). Births before the exact Lichun instant belong to 1997 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 1998 · Almanac for Chinese New Year (1998-01-28) · Kua number calculator · Four-pillar chart · All Tiger years