Tiger

Usually power, courage or a real tiger, never a threat. The tiger is the largest of the cats, and in messages it carries that reputation: a 🐅 before an exam, a match or a job interview says "be fierce", much like the phrase "eye of the tiger". Sent after a win, it is a roar of pride. Among friends it can also be a playful compliment: someone who was bold, or someone who looks striking.

Sports fans use it for any team called the Tigers, from school squads to professional clubs, next to a score or a kick-off time. Wildlife lovers use it literally, with zoo photos, nature documentaries and conservation posts, because wild tigers are endangered and their numbers are a regular news topic.

On its own, with no words, a tiger is hard to misread badly: it is almost always a good sign. If you want to be sure, the words around it or the thread it sits in will tell you whether it is the animal, the team or the compliment.

Why does a tiger stand for a year?

The Tiger is the third animal of the Chinese zodiac. The zodiac gives each year one of twelve animals in a fixed order (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig), and the cycle repeats. People born in a Tiger year are traditionally described as brave, confident and a little impulsive. The same calendar is followed in Vietnam, Korea and other parts of East and Southeast Asia, and the animals appear on New Year decorations, stamps and greetings.

Recent Tiger years are 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 and 2022; the next is 2034. The year changes at Chinese New Year, which falls between late January and mid-February, not on 1 January. The last Tiger year ran from 1 February 2022 to 21 January 2023, so someone born in January 2022 is a Tiger only if they were born on or after 1 February. Around New Year you will see 🐅 in "Happy Year of the Tiger" posts, and in the twelve-animal strings people send to show their birth sign.

In Chinese tradition the tiger, not the lion, is the king of beasts: the stripes on its forehead are read as the character 王, "king". That is why it stands for authority and protection in temples, children's tiger-head hats and shoes, and the emoji inherits that respect.