Chinese zodiac 1981
Year of the Metal Rooster
5 February 1981 to 24 January 1982
Born in 1981? Your sign depends on the day
The animal changes at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. In 1981 it falls on 5 February 1981.
- 5 February to 31 December 1981
- π Metal Rooster
- and on to 24 Jan 1982
Check an exact birth date
The Metal Rooster at a glance
Animal
π Rooster
Said to be observant, hard-working, direct.
Element
ι Yin Metal
Linked with determination and order. Each element rules two years in a row.
Length
354 days
A regular year of twelve lunar months.
Other Rooster years
The 60-year cycle
Animal and element line up again only every 60 years. The Metal Rooster years nearest to this one are 1921 and 2041.
Who gets on with the Rooster
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 Rooster 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.