Chinese zodiac 1980
Year of the Metal Monkey
16 February 1980 to 4 February 1981
Born in 1980? Your sign depends on the day
The animal changes at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. In 1980 it falls on 16 February 1980.
- 16 February to 31 December 1980
- π Metal Monkey
- and on to 4 Feb 1981
Check an exact birth date
The Metal Monkey at a glance
Animal
π Monkey
Said to be clever, curious, playful.
Element
ι Yang Metal
Linked with determination and order. Each element rules two years in a row.
Length
355 days
A regular year of twelve lunar months.
Other Monkey years
The 60-year cycle
Animal and element line up again only every 60 years. The Metal Monkey years nearest to this one are 1920 and 2040.
Who gets on with the Monkey
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 Monkey 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.