Year of the Monkey
The Monkey is read as the clever trickster of the zodiac: inventive, playful and brilliant at solving problems.
| Fixed element | Metal |
|---|---|
| Yin or yang | Yang |
| Best matches | Rat, Dragon |
| Clashes with | Tiger |
| Current or next year | Earth Monkey (2028) |
Monkey personality
People born in a Monkey year are said to be curious, witty and quick to learn. They tend to find clever ways round obstacles and enjoy keeping people entertained. Their cleverness can slide into restlessness or cutting corners, and they may lose interest once a puzzle is solved. At their best they invent what no one else thought of.
The Monkey in love
In love, the Monkey is read as fun, flirtatious and generous, looking for a partner who can keep up with its mind. It may need to show its serious side so a partner knows it is committed.
The Monkey at work
At work, the Monkey tends to excel in technology, science, marketing, performance, trading or any role full of new problems. Routine bores it fast.
Room to grow
The growth edge for a Monkey is depth. Staying with one goal long enough to master it turns its talent into something lasting.
Monkey compatibility
In the tradition, the Monkey gets on best with the Rat and the Dragon, the other two animals of its group of three, and clashes with the Tiger, the animal opposite it on the wheel. These are traditional pairings, not rules: any two people can make it work.
The Monkey making decisions
A Monkey decides by trying several things at once and seeing which works. It's quick, inventive and tends to find a way round any rule, which makes it very good in a crisis. The tradition warns only that being clever isn't the same as being right. A Monkey does well to pick one idea, tell someone about it and stick with it past the point where it stops being fun.
The Monkey as a friend
As a friend, the Monkey is the funniest person you know. It has a story for everything and a solution for most things, and time with it goes quickly. It's generous with ideas and curious about everyone. It keeps its real worries behind the jokes, and it tends to trust the friend who sees through the act and stays anyway.
The Monkey with every other animal
The Rat and the Dragon are the Monkey's allies, and they keep up with its pace. The Snake is its secret friend, and the two enjoy each other's wit. The Tiger sits across the wheel and doesn't enjoy being provoked. The Pig is the pairing the tradition warns about, as a Monkey may take too much advantage of a Pig's trust.
| With the | Monkey reads as |
|---|---|
| Rat | Ally |
| Ox | No special tie |
| Tiger | Clash |
| Rabbit | No special tie |
| Dragon | Ally |
| Snake | Secret friend |
| Horse | No special tie |
| Goat | No special tie |
| Rooster | No special tie |
| Dog | No special tie |
| Pig | Harm |
The five kinds of Monkey
Each kind of Monkey returns every 60 years. Find your birth year:
- Wood Monkey: 1944, 2004. A Wood Monkey is read as more cooperative and more patient than the others, with a real talent for teaching.
- Fire Monkey: 1956, 2016. A Fire Monkey is read as the most ambitious and competitive of the five, full of drive and hard to outrun.
- Earth Monkey: 1968, 2028. An Earth Monkey is read as steadier and more honest, more comfortable with quiet effort than with showing off.
- Metal Monkey: 1980, 2040. A Metal Monkey is the animal in its home element, read as confident and self-sufficient, with a sharp eye for an opening.
- Water Monkey: 1932, 1992. A Water Monkey is read as perceptive and discreet, good at reading people and at keeping its own plans private.
Are you really a Monkey?
Since 1930, Monkey years have started as early as January 22 and as late as February 16. Born before your Monkey year's start in the table below? Then you are a Goat, the animal before it.
This Chinese year, Monkeys are turning 10, 22, 34, 46, 58, 70.
The Monkey's hour and month
The Monkey's hour runs from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and its month is the seventh month of the lunar year. Anyone born in that hour has the Monkey as a second animal, read as how they behave in private.
What people get wrong about the Monkey
The Monkey is often seen as a trickster who can't be taken seriously. The tradition reads something closer to restless intelligence. Many Monkeys are capable of deep, sustained work when a problem finally interests them. Its pranks are mostly boredom. When a Monkey cares about something, the same cleverness goes into solving it, and it's a very useful ally.
Questions about the Monkey
Is the Monkey a smart sign?
The tradition reads it as the cleverest animal on the wheel, quick to learn and good at improvising. It's the kind of intelligence that shows in solving problems on the spot.
What is the Monkey like in love?
Playful, lively and easily bored. It needs a partner who laughs with it and isn't thrown by the jokes, and it tends to take time to show what's underneath.
What jobs suit a Monkey?
Work with problems to solve and people to convince: technology, marketing, journalism, teaching, trading ideas. It tends to get bored quickly in anything repetitive.
Years of the Monkey
| Year | Element | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Water | February 6, 1932 to January 25, 1933 |
| 1944 | Wood | January 25, 1944 to February 12, 1945 |
| 1956 | Fire | February 12, 1956 to January 30, 1957 |
| 1968 | Earth | January 30, 1968 to February 16, 1969 |
| 1980 | Metal | February 16, 1980 to February 4, 1981 |
| 1992 | Water | February 4, 1992 to January 22, 1993 |
| 2004 | Wood | January 22, 2004 to February 8, 2005 |
| 2016 | Fire | February 8, 2016 to January 27, 2017 |
| 2028 | Earth | January 26, 2028 to February 12, 2029 |
Find your animal from your date of birth