YEAR OF THE OX (a.k.a Happy Niu Year!)

Chinese New Year begins this year on the 12th of February, and this year will be the year of the Ox (year of the Metal Ox, to be specific). Cattle of various types have been utilized in Chinese culture for millennia, so it makes sense that they would make the cut for the Chinese zodiac. So here we have provided a little more information on what it means to be an OX.

Birth Years:
1937, 1949, 1961, 1973,
1985, 1997, 2009

Characteristics:

  • Positive: Strong, Diligent, Honest, Reliable
  • Negative: Stubborn, Old-Fashioned, Opinionated, Dull

Cow Phrases:

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) – lit. ‘To play a harp for a cow’

to explain something complicated to a fool; to explain something to the wrong audience.
泥牛入海 (ní niú rù hǎi) – lit. ‘a clay cow entering the ocean’
– to disappear without a trace.