Our answer
Year of the Monkey 属猴
Ninth of the 12 zodiac animals
The short answer
The Monkey (猴, hóu) is the ninth of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. Monkey years include 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 and 2028, each starting at Lunar New Year. Tradition calls Monkey people clever, lively and versatile, and pairs them best with the Rat and Dragon.
| In Chinese | 猴 (hóu); earthly branch 申 |
|---|---|
| Place in the cycle | Ninth of 12 |
| Recent Monkey years | 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 |
| Next Year of the Monkey | 2028, from 26 Jan 2028 |
| Best matches | Rat, Dragon, Snake; clashes with the Tiger |
Year of the Monkey: all the years and exact dates
Each Year of the Monkey starts at Lunar New Year, so people born in January or early February belong to the previous animal. Check a birth date with our Chinese zodiac calculator.[1]
| Year | Element and animal | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Fire Monkey (火猴) | 12 Feb 1956 | 30 Jan 1957 |
| 1968 | Earth Monkey (土猴) | 30 Jan 1968 | 16 Feb 1969 |
| 1980 | Metal Monkey (金猴) | 16 Feb 1980 | 4 Feb 1981 |
| 1992 | Water Monkey (水猴) | 4 Feb 1992 | 22 Jan 1993 |
| 2004 | Wood Monkey (木猴) | 22 Jan 2004 | 8 Feb 2005 |
| 2016 | Fire Monkey (火猴) | 8 Feb 2016 | 27 Jan 2017 |
| 2028 | Earth Monkey (土猴) | 26 Jan 2028 | 12 Feb 2029 |
Monkey personality: traits tradition gives Monkey people
Folk tradition says people born in a Monkey year are clever, lively and versatile, though sometimes playful. The lists differ from source to source, and there is no scientific evidence that birth year shapes personality.[2][3][4]
Monkey compatibility: best and worst matches
Traditional matching, which some couples in China still take into account, uses three rules.[2][3][5][6]
| Rule | Match for the Monkey | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 三合 (sānhé), trio | Rat and Dragon | Animals four years apart; the most harmonious |
| 六合 (liùhé), pair | Snake | A secret friend; a good match |
| 六冲 (liùchōng), clash | Tiger | Six years apart, opposite on the wheel; traditionally avoided |
What the Monkey means in Chinese culture
The Monkey’s most famous representative is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of Journey to the West. In Chinese art the monkey is also a pun for success: 猴 (hóu) sounds like 侯 (hóu), a noble title.
A monkey started China’s best-known stamp series. The 1980 Gengshen Monkey stamp, painted by Huang Yongyu, cost 8 fen; only 4.43 million were printed, and a full sheet of 80 later sold for close to ¥1.5 million. China Post has issued a zodiac stamp every year since.[4][7][8][9]
How many babies are born in Monkey years in China?
| Monkey year | Births in China | Year before | Year after |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 15.93 million | 15.99 million (2003) | 16.17 million (2005) |
| 2016 | 17.86 million | 16.55 million (2015) | 17.23 million (2017) |
Calendar-year births from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, as first published. A zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, so it overlaps two calendar years.
Questions readers ask
What years are the Year of the Monkey?
Recent Monkey years are 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016; the next is 2028, starting on 26 Jan 2028. Each year starts at Lunar New Year, not 1 January.
What is the Monkey compatible with?
Traditionally the Rat and Dragon (its 三合 trio) and the Snake (its 六合 pair). Its clash animal is the Tiger.
Sources
- Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-Lunar calendar conversion tables, 1901–2100 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, The 12 Chinese zodiac animals and their best matches (2016), part 2 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Daily, The 12 Chinese zodiac animals and their best matches (2016), part 3 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- CGTN, The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac: Monkey (January 2020) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac (six harmonies and clashes) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- Duke Kunshan University, Lingwei Wu (Fudan): zodiac compatibility and marriage matching in China · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- The Met, Monkey Business: celebrating the Year of the Monkey (2016) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- People’s Daily (Huanqiu Renwu), the 1980 Gengshen Monkey stamp (6 February 2016, in Chinese) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- China Post, zodiac Horse stamps in the fourth cycle (2025) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2003 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2004 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2005 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2015 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2016 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, statistical release for 2017 (births) · accessed 31 Oct 2026
Update log. 31 October 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 15 January 2027. Suggest a correction