In love
In love the Monkey is fun, flirtatious and affectionate, and needs a partner who keeps it interested. Routine and predictability are the danger; humor and shared projects keep it close.
Animal 9 of 12 · Metal · Yang
Chinese zodiac Monkey
The Monkey is the ninth animal of the Chinese zodiac — metal, yang. Its traditional traits are cleverness, invention and an appetite for problems.
- Element
- Metal
- Polarity
- Yang
- Hours
- 3–5 PM
- Lucky numbers
- 1, 8, 9
Character
Monkey personality
The Monkey is the animal of cleverness. Tradition reads it as curious, witty, inventive and playful — a fast thinker who solves problems others have not noticed yet. Monkeys are versatile, sociable and entertaining, and they learn almost anything quickly.
The same quickness can make them restless, mischievous or manipulative. Monkeys get bored easily, can cut corners and sometimes treat people as a puzzle to solve. They need challenges worthy of their minds, or they create their own.
- Strength. Solves things sideways. Finds the route nobody else considered.
- Friction. Bores easily and occasionally treats other people as puzzles rather than persons.
Traits
Inventive Witty Manipulative Curious ImpatientSeasonAutumn
MonthAugust
Lucky colorswhite, blue, gold
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Monkey holds 3–5 PM. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Monkey as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Work and money
Monkeys shine in technology, science, trading, entertainment, journalism and any role built on problem-solving. With money they are clever dealmakers who can also spend impulsively.
Health and pace
Tradition gives the Monkey good energy and a tendency to overstimulate itself. Switching off — sleep, quiet, time away from screens — is the usual advice.
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
Primary source
The monkey in a Chinese text of about AD 80
“Sse corresponds to the serpent, Shên to the monkey. Fire destroys metal, how is it that the serpent does not eat the monkey?”
Wang Chong, Lun-hêng, “The Nature of Things”, translated by Alfred Forke, Lun-hêng, Part I: Philosophical Essays of Wang Chʻung (1907), pp. 105–106 — read the original text.
Wang Chong already pairs the earthly branches with the animals still used today — and lists them to argue against the idea that animals fight because of their elements. The sheep of his text is the goat of the modern zodiac, the boar its pig.
Monkey years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Wood Monkey | January 25 |
| 1956 | Fire Monkey | February 12 |
| 1968 | Earth Monkey | January 30 |
| 1980 | Metal Monkey | February 16 |
| 1992 | Water Monkey | February 4 |
| 2004 | Wood Monkey | January 22 |
| 2016 | Fire Monkey | February 8 |
| 2028 | Earth Monkey | January 26 |
Born in January or early February of one of these years? Check the new year date — you may belong to the previous animal.
The 9 Monkey years in the table began as early as January 22 2004 and as late as February 16 1980 — a window of 25 days. Anyone born in 1980 before February 16 is still a Goat.
The five Monkeys
The Monkey's own fixed element is Metal. The element of the year interacts with it differently each time, which is what separates the five versions — and why the cycle runs sixty years.
| Version | Years | Relation to Metal |
|---|---|---|
| Water Monkey | 1932, 1992 | Drains it — productive but costly |
| Wood Monkey | 1944, 2004 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
| Fire Monkey | 1956, 2016 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Earth Monkey | 1968, 2028 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Metal Monkey | 1980, 2040 | Doubled — strongest expression |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Monkey year is the same length
The 9 Monkey years from 1932 to 2028 last anywhere from 354 to 385 days, so the window for being born under the sign is wider in some years than in others. Four of them have a thirteenth, leap month.
| Year | From | To | Days | Lunar months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Feb 6, 1932 | Jan 25, 1933 | 355 | 12 |
| 1944 | Jan 25, 1944 | Feb 12, 1945 | 385 | 13 — leap year |
| 1956 | Feb 12, 1956 | Jan 30, 1957 | 354 | 12 |
| 1968 | Jan 30, 1968 | Feb 16, 1969 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1980 | Feb 16, 1980 | Feb 4, 1981 | 355 | 12 |
| 1992 | Feb 4, 1992 | Jan 22, 1993 | 354 | 12 |
| 2004 | Jan 22, 2004 | Feb 8, 2005 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 2016 | Feb 8, 2016 | Jan 27, 2017 | 355 | 12 |
| 2028 | Jan 26, 2028 | Feb 12, 2029 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
Average length
367.8 days
Longest
1944 — 385 days
Shortest
1956 — 354 days
Difference
31 days
Why some years get a leap month: the calendar adds one seven times every nineteen years to stay in step with the seasons. How the lunar year is built →
The next Monkey year is 2028
By tradition a Monkey treads carefully in its own year rather than celebrating it. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Monkey compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Rat | Trine — natural allies | 90% |
| Dragon | Trine — natural allies | 90% |
| Snake | Six harmonies — secret friends | 88% |
| Monkey | Same sign | 72% |
| Ox | Neutral | 68% |
| Rabbit | Neutral | 68% |
| Horse | Neutral | 68% |
| Goat | Neutral | 68% |
| Rooster | Neutral | 68% |
| Dog | Neutral | 68% |
| Pig | Six harms | 55% |
| Tiger | Clash | 45% |
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Zodiac Monkey: Years, Traits and Compatibility.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/sign/monkey/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Zodiac Monkey: Years, Traits and Compatibility |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/sign/monkey/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}