Chinese zodiac 1971
Year of the Metal Pig
27 January 1971 to 14 February 1972
Born in 1971? Your sign depends on the day
The animal changes at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. In 1971 it falls on 27 January 1971.
- 27 January to 31 December 1971
- π Metal Pig
- and on to 14 Feb 1972
Check an exact birth date
The Metal Pig at a glance
Animal
π Pig
Said to be generous, easy-going, sincere.
Element
ι Yin Metal
Linked with determination and order. Each element rules two years in a row.
Length
384 days
A long year: the calendar adds a thirteenth, leap month.
Other Pig years
The 60-year cycle
Animal and element line up again only every 60 years. The Metal Pig years nearest to this one are 1911 and 2031.
Who gets on with the Pig
Allies
Four years apart. The three animals of a trine are said to share a temperament.
Secret friend
One of six fixed pairs said to complement each other.
Opposite
Six years apart, directly across the wheel. Tradition calls this the hardest pairing.
Friction
One of six fixed pairs said to rub each other the wrong way.
Bonds come from each animal's position among the twelve, as tradition sets them. They describe the Pig sign in general, not any one person.
Dates are computed estimates from the Hong Kong Observatory's calendar tables, counted in China's time zone. Some traditions change the animal at the start of spring (around 4 February) instead of at Lunar New Year.