Chinese zodiac 2021
Year of the Metal Ox
12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022
Born in 2021? Your sign depends on the day
The animal changes at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. In 2021 it falls on 12 February 2021.
- 12 February to 31 December 2021
- π Metal Ox
- and on to 31 Jan 2022
Check an exact birth date
The Metal Ox at a glance
Animal
π Ox
Said to be steady, hard-working, dependable.
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 Ox years
The 60-year cycle
Animal and element line up again only every 60 years. The Metal Ox years nearest to this one are 1961 and 2081.
Who gets on with the Ox
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 Ox 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.