Chinese New Year
Happy Chinese New Year!
The Chinese Zodiac is represented by 12 animals:
- Rat 2020, 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972
- Ox 2021, 2009, 1997, 1985, 1973
- Tiger 2022, 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974
- Rabbit 2023, 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975
- Dragon 2024, 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976
- Snake 2025, 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977
- Horse 2026, 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978
- Goat 2027, 2015, 2003, 1991, 1979
- Monkey 2028, 2016, 2004, 1992, 1980
- Rooster 2029, 2017, 2005, 1993, 1981
- Dog 2030, 2018, 2006, 1994, 1982
- Pig 2031, 2019, 2007, 1995, 1983
February 16th, 2018 is the Start of the Year of the Dog and it will last until February 4th, 2019. Last year, 2017 was the Year of the Rooster. 2019 will be the Year of the Pig.
You can Download our Chinese Zodiac, explore which Chinese animal you are, and create your own matching activities and story in our Special Words and Special Stories Apps.

2017 - Year of the Rooster

2018 - Year of the Dog
To download, please carefully follow these steps:
For Special Words Pro Edition on iPad & iPhone
- If you have disabled editing in the app, re-enable it via the Settings. You may also want to disable the Child Safety Gate.
- Open the app, go to Word List, tap action button (top right), select Import Word List, then Download from Special iApps.
- If you have not yet registered and activated the app, follow the simple steps there to do so.
- In the list you'll see, Chinese New Year is in the Annual Events collection: select the collection, and then the add-on.
- When download has completed, choose Add new profile, NOT any of the Replace options.
For Special Words (standard) & Special Stories on iPad & iPhone
- If you have disabled editing in the app(s), re-enable it via the Settings.
- Visit this web page page in the Safari app on your mobile device.
- If you have Special Words, tap the download link below, select Special Words and choose a language.
- Tap Open in Special Words: this will launch Special Words.
- Select the Add new profile, NOT any of the Replace options.
- If you have Special Stories, repeat steps 2 to 4 for Stories instead of Words.
- Select the Add new collection option, NOT any of the Replace options.
For Special Words & Special Stories on Android
- If you have disabled editing in the app(s), re-enable it via the Settings.
- Visit this web page page in a web browser (e.g. Chrome or Internet) on your mobile device.
- If you have Special Words, tap the download link below, select Special Words and choose a language: a bubble should appear saying Starting download...
- On Android 5 (Lollipop) and later, as soon as a message appears at the bottom of the screen saying Open: tap this, and proceed to step 7. On earlier versions, launch the Downloads app.
- You should see a file named chinese-new-year.siasw. If the download is shown as in progress, wait for it to complete.
- Tap the file: this will launch Special Words.
- Select the Add new profile option, NOT any of the Replace options.
- If you have Special Stories, repeat steps 2 to 6 for Stories instead of Words.
- Select the Add new collection option, NOT any of the Replace options.
Note:
You now have more than one profile (in Special Words or Special Words Pro) or collection (in Special Stories), and will only see one at any time. You haven't lost your previous data!
To switch between profiles in Special Words, tap Word List then the action button (top right) and choose Manage Profiles. To switch between collections in Special Stories, go to the list of stories, tap the action button (top left), and choose Manage Collections.
For more help, see our User Guides