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What is your Kua number, and what does knowing it actually change?
Most people meet the Kua number the same way. A calculator asks for a birth year and a gender category, returns a single digit, and explains nothing else. The number sits there while the reader wonders whether the bed needs to move.
In the Eight Mansions school of feng shui, a Kua number (kua — the trigram a person is matched to in this system) does one small job. It sorts you into a direction group. Everything else follows from the group.
Here is what the number covers:
- It gives you a group. Every person lands in the East group or the West group, four numbers each.
- It gives you eight directions. Four that tend to support you, and four that tend to work against you.
- It applies where you stay put. The bed you sleep in, the desk you work at, the seat you keep for hours.
This guide gives you the full birth-year chart from 1930 to 2035, explains the two rules that trip up most calculations, and shows where the number is worth using in a real home.
Quick answer
Your Kua number comes from your birth year and gender category, and it places you in the East group (1, 3, 4, 9) or the West group (2, 6, 7, 8). The number 5 is converted, to 2 for males and 8 for females, because it belongs to the center of the chart rather than to a direction. Anyone born in January or early February should confirm which year their birth belongs to, because the feng shui year begins at the start of spring, not on January 1.
Table of Contents
The Basics
Two ideas carry the whole system. Get them straight and the chart further down takes about ten seconds to read.
What Is a Kua Number?
A Kua number is a number from one to nine that describes a person’s direction preferences. In the classical Chinese view, directions carry different qualities, and a personal direction code lets you work with that instead of against it.
The number is calculated, not chosen. It comes from the birth year and the gender category used in this tradition, and it stays the same for life.
A Kua number is a direction preference. It is not a personality type and not a forecast.
Why the Birth Year Decides Everything
Every part of the calculation comes from the birth year. There is no birth time, no birth city, and no compass reading involved on your side.
The feng shui year runs from the start of spring, which falls on or around February 4 in the standard calendar. That is why the chart below shifts for people born in the first weeks of the year.
Different schools and calculators use slightly different year boundaries and different chart layouts. Pick one method, note which one you used, and stay with it. Mixing two systems produces numbers that do not fit either one.
The birth year is the only input. The boundary is the only place it can go wrong.
The Chart
Find your birth year. Read the column for your gender category. The number you get is your Kua number, and the trigram name beside it tells you which direction the number belongs to.
Two reminders before you start. First, if you were born in January or the first days of February, read the section below the chart before trusting the result. Second, if the number you calculate comes out as 5, it converts to 2 for males and 8 for females, and the chart below already shows the converted value.
Kua Numbers by Birth Year, 1930 to 2035
1930s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1931 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1932 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1933 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1934 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1935 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1936 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1937 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1938 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1939 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
1940s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1941 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1942 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1943 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1944 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1945 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1946 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1947 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1948 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1949 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
1950s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1951 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1952 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1953 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1954 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1955 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1956 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1957 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1958 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1959 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
1960s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1961 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1962 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1963 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1964 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1965 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1966 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1967 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1968 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1969 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
1970s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1971 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1972 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1973 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1974 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1975 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1976 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1977 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1978 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1979 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
1980s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1981 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1982 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1983 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1984 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1985 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1986 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1987 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1988 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1989 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
1990s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
| 1991 | 9 Li | 6 Qian |
| 1992 | 8 Gen | 7 Dui |
| 1993 | 7 Dui | 8 Gen |
| 1994 | 6 Qian | 9 Li |
| 1995 | 2 Kun | 1 Kan |
| 1996 | 4 Xun | 2 Kun |
| 1997 | 3 Zhen | 3 Zhen |
| 1998 | 2 Kun | 4 Xun |
| 1999 | 1 Kan | 8 Gen |
2000s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9 Li | 4 Xun |
| 2001 | 8 Gen | 8 Gen |
| 2002 | 7 Dui | 6 Qian |
| 2003 | 6 Qian | 7 Dui |
| 2004 | 2 Kun | 8 Gen |
| 2005 | 4 Xun | 9 Li |
| 2006 | 3 Zhen | 1 Kan |
| 2007 | 2 Kun | 2 Kun |
| 2008 | 1 Kan | 3 Zhen |
| 2009 | 9 Li | 4 Xun |
2010s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 8 Gen | 8 Gen |
| 2011 | 7 Dui | 6 Qian |
| 2012 | 6 Qian | 7 Dui |
| 2013 | 2 Kun | 8 Gen |
| 2014 | 4 Xun | 9 Li |
| 2015 | 3 Zhen | 1 Kan |
| 2016 | 2 Kun | 2 Kun |
| 2017 | 1 Kan | 3 Zhen |
| 2018 | 9 Li | 4 Xun |
| 2019 | 8 Gen | 8 Gen |
2020s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 7 Dui | 6 Qian |
| 2021 | 6 Qian | 7 Dui |
| 2022 | 2 Kun | 8 Gen |
| 2023 | 4 Xun | 9 Li |
| 2024 | 3 Zhen | 1 Kan |
| 2025 | 2 Kun | 2 Kun |
| 2026 | 1 Kan | 3 Zhen |
| 2027 | 9 Li | 4 Xun |
| 2028 | 8 Gen | 8 Gen |
| 2029 | 7 Dui | 6 Qian |
2030s
| Birth year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 2030 | 6 Qian | 7 Dui |
| 2031 | 2 Kun | 8 Gen |
| 2032 | 4 Xun | 9 Li |
| 2033 | 3 Zhen | 1 Kan |
| 2034 | 2 Kun | 2 Kun |
| 2035 | 1 Kan | 3 Zhen |
Born in January or Early February?
The feng shui year starts at the beginning of spring, around February 4. Anyone born between January 1 and that date belongs to the previous year for this calculation, not the year printed on the birth certificate.
Say you were born in January 1990. For the Kua number, you read the 1989 row. That gives males 2 Kun and females 4 Xun, which is a different answer from the 1990 row.
Some calculators use the lunar new year as the boundary instead, which can shift the result for anyone born in the first weeks of February. Either convention works as long as you use one of them consistently and tell people which one you used.
If your birthday comes before the start of spring, subtract a year before you read the chart.
Your Directions
The number is the label. The directions are the useful part.
Which Group Are You In?
Six of the eight numbers sit in the East group or the West group, and each group holds four directions.
The East group uses 1, 3, 4, and 9, which correspond to north, east, southeast, and south. The West group uses 2, 6, 7, and 8, which correspond to southwest, northwest, west, and northeast.
Two groups, eight directions, and the numbers that place you in one of them.
Your Four Supportive Directions
Each group carries four supportive directions, and the tradition gives each one a name. The names sound grander than they behave in practice.
The strongest is Sheng Qi, which relates to momentum and vitality. Tian Yi relates to health and recovery. Yan Nian relates to relationships and closeness. Fu Wei relates to steadiness and personal growth.
You do not need the names. What matters is that your four supportive directions are the places where it is easier to rest, to concentrate, and to settle in for a long stretch of work.
Your Four Difficult Directions
The other four carry names such as Jue Ming and Wu Gui, which translate into dramatic English. Treat the drama as a translation artifact rather than a warning.
In practice, a difficult direction is simply the least useful of the eight for a person. The tradition reads it as a place where effort costs more.
A difficult direction is a lower preference, not a hazard. Use it when you have no choice, and stop worrying about the days when you do.
Using It at Home
The Kua number has three useful places in a real home, and none of them is a shopping list.
Bedroom: Which Way Should Your Head Point?
The head position is the most common use of the number, and it comes second to the position of the bed itself.
A bed needs a solid wall behind the headboard, a clear view of the door from the pillow, and a body that is not lying directly in line with the door. Those three things matter more than direction, because they affect how the room feels every night.
Once the bed sits well, use your Kua number to choose the head direction. Aim the head toward one of your four supportive directions when the room allows it. When it does not, leave the bed where it is and stop there.
Fix the position of the bed first. Use the number to fine-tune the direction.
Desk: Where Should You Face?
For a desk, the command position comes first. A solid wall behind the chair and a clear view of the door settle the body enough to concentrate.
With the desk in place, face one of your four supportive directions if the room permits it. Sheng Qi and Tian Yi are the two people most often choose, since desk work is where attention and stamina get tested.
If facing a supportive direction would put your back to the door, keep the command position and accept the compromise. A desk that faces the right way but sits in the wrong place is a worse trade.
The command position decides the desk. The Kua number decides which way you look once it is there.
Two People, Two Different Numbers
Two people in one home often land in opposite groups, which turns the bedroom into a negotiation.
Treat the room as one unit. A bed placed well supports both people regardless of their numbers, so the position of the bed is settled first and the direction is a secondary question.
When the head direction cannot suit both people, let it rest in a neutral direction and give each person a private corner that follows their own number, one desk here and one reading chair there. Shared rooms are shared before they are personal.
What the Number Does Not Do
The Kua number does not describe character. Every male born in the same year shares a number, which rules out any serious claim about personality.
It also does not change from year to year. Your personal number stays fixed, and the layer that shifts annually is the flying star chart, which is a separate system.
It cannot rescue a bad room either. A bed in line with the door is still in line with the door, no matter which direction it points, and no ornament changes that.
The number is fine-tuning for a room that already works. It is not a substitute for one.
Conclusion
Your Kua number is one line in a chart and one small decision in each room. It places you in a group of four directions, and those directions tell you where to put your head at night and where to look during the day.
The order matters more than the number. Settle the bed so the headboard rests on a solid wall with the door in view. Put the desk in the command position. Then, if the room gives you a choice, use your Kua number to choose the direction and leave the rest alone.
Read your row, note the direction, and change one thing this week.
How do I calculate my Kua number without a chart?
Add the last two digits of your birth year until you reach a single digit. For 1900 to 1999, males subtract the result from 10 and females add 5. For 2000 onward, males subtract from 9 and females add 4. If the result is 5, males use 2 and females use 8.
Why is there no Kua number 5?
The number 5 belongs to the center of the nine-square chart, so it has no direction of its own. In practice it converts to 2 for males and 8 for females.
Does my Kua number change each year?
No. Your personal Kua number stays the same for life. The chart that changes each year belongs to flying stars, a different layer of the tradition.
What if my bed cannot face a supportive direction?
Keep the bed in a good position and leave the direction as it is. A solid wall behind the headboard and a view of the door do more for sleep than a perfect compass angle.
Do I need a compass to find my directions?
A phone compass is enough for most homes, as long as you keep it away from metal frames, appliances, and magnetic cases. Take the reading twice and use the number that repeats.