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Can Chi Calculator (Vietnamese Zodiac Animal & Element)

Enter your birth year to find your Can Chi — the Heavenly Stem (Can) and Earthly Branch (Chi) from the Vietnamese/Chinese sexagenary calendar. The result shows two numeric indices; use the reference tables below to read the full name. Animal index (Chi): 0=Tý/Rat, 1=Sửu/Ox, 2=Dần/Tiger, 3=Mão/Rabbit, 4=Thìn/Dragon, 5=Tỵ/Snake, 6=Ngọ/Horse, 7=Mùi/Goat, 8=Thân/Monkey, 9=Dậu/Rooster, 10=Tuất/Dog, 11=Hợi/Pig Stem index (Can): 0=Giáp/Wood+, 1=Ất/Wood-, 2=Bính/Fire+, 3=Đinh/Fire-, 4=Mậu/Earth+, 5=Kỷ/Earth-, 6=Canh/Metal+, 7=Tân/Metal-, 8=Nhâm/Water+, 9=Quý/Water- Example: 1990 → animal_index=6 (Ngọ/Horse), stem_index=6 (Canh/Metal+) → Canh Ngọ.

Birth Year

Fill in the fields above and click Calculate to see your results.

How to use

How it's calculated

Animal Index (Chi)

(birth_year - 4) - floor((birth_year - 4) / 12) * 12

0=Tý/Rat, 1=Sửu/Ox, 2=Dần/Tiger, 3=Mão/Rabbit, 4=Thìn/Dragon, 5=Tỵ/Snake, 6=Ngọ/Horse, 7=Mùi/Goat, 8=Thân/Monkey, 9=Dậu/Rooster, 10=Tuất/Dog, 11=Hợi/Pig

Stem Index (Can)

(birth_year - 4) - floor((birth_year - 4) / 10) * 10

0=Giáp/Wood+, 1=Ất/Wood-, 2=Bính/Fire+, 3=Đinh/Fire-, 4=Mậu/Earth+, 5=Kỷ/Earth-, 6=Canh/Metal+, 7=Tân/Metal-, 8=Nhâm/Water+, 9=Quý/Water-

Position in 60-Year Cycle

(birth_year - 4) - floor((birth_year - 4) / 60) * 60

Position within the 60-year sexagenary cycle (0–59)

Examples

1990 → animal_index=6 (Ngọ/Horse), stem_index=6 (Canh/Metal+) → Canh Ngọ

Birth Year:1,990

2000 → animal_index=4 (Thìn/Dragon), stem_index=6 (Canh/Metal+) → Canh Thìn

Birth Year:2,000

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Can Chi?

Can Chi (干支) is the Vietnamese/Chinese sexagenary cycle combining 10 Heavenly Stems (Thiên Can) and 12 Earthly Branches (Địa Chi). Each year in the 60-year cycle has a unique two-character name such as Giáp Tý, Ất Sửu, or Canh Ngọ. It is used in the traditional lunisolar calendar to label years, months, days, and hours.

How do I read my Can Chi from the index?

Look up your stem_index in the Can table and your animal_index in the Chi table. Combine them: stem name first, then animal name. For example, stem_index=6 (Canh) + animal_index=6 (Ngọ) = Canh Ngọ. This is purely a cultural calendar label.

Why does the cycle repeat every 60 years?

The 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches cycle together. The least common multiple of 10 and 12 is 60, so the full combination of stem and branch repeats every 60 years. This 60-year cycle is called the lục thập hoa giáp in Vietnamese.

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