Monkey Chinese Zodiac Sign
The Monkey is the ninth sign of the Chinese zodiac, fixed to the Metal element and classed as Yang. It corresponds to the double-hour of 3 pm to 5 pm, and recent Monkey years include 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 and 2028.
| Earthly Branch | Shen (申) |
|---|---|
| Recent and upcoming years | 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 |
The Monkey King Sun Wukong, hero of the classic novel Journey to the West, is the sign's best-known folk ambassador: clever, mischievous, and able to talk or trick his way out of nearly any trouble. Oral tradition and almanac writing borrow that same wit when describing people born in Monkey years, commonly casting them as inventive problem-solvers who get bored quickly with routine.
Metal and Yang: The Monkey's Element
Setting the Journey to the West association aside, traditional cosmology fixes a separate, permanent element and polarity to the Monkey: Metal and Yang. The Four Pillars system, by contrast, derives its own element from each year's heavenly stem, so two Monkey years — 1992 and 2004, say — do not necessarily share a stem element even though the sign's fixed element never varies.
The Monkey's Spot on the Zodiac Wheel
Rounding out the Water frame with the Rat and the Dragon, the Monkey belongs to one of four three-sign harmony sets recorded across centuries of almanacs. Its Six Harmonies (liu he) partner is the Snake, and squarely across the wheel is its clash sign, the Tiger — a rivalry folklore sometimes explains as brains versus brute strength. These connections are traditionally treated as cultural pattern, never as instructions for real relationships.
Reading the Monkey Sign in Modern Life
Sun Wukong's mischief makes for a good story precisely because it is exaggerated, and that same license applies to how Monkey years get talked about — festival lore, not a profile of any actual person born under the sign.
What years are Monkey years?
Recent Monkey years are 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 and 2028. A zodiac year starts on Chinese New Year, not 1 January, so people born in January or early February may belong to the previous sign, the Goat.
What element is the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac?
In the traditional five-elements framework, the Monkey is fixed to the Metal element and classed as Yang; the sign is ranked number 9 in the traditional zodiac order and covers the hours of roughly 3–5 pm in the old double-hour system.
Which signs traditionally get along well with the Monkey?
Folk tradition groups the Monkey with the Rat and Dragon into what almanacs call the 'Water frame,' a Three Harmonies (san he) triad, and pairs it specifically with the Snake in a Six Harmonies (liu he) match; these are traditional groupings, not guarantees.
Which sign does the Monkey traditionally clash with?
The Monkey is traditionally said to clash with the Tiger, its opposite on the zodiac wheel; folklore treats this as a point worth being mindful of rather than a fixed outcome.
Zodiac, year pillar (Gānzhī) and na yin element are computed from the lunar calendar with lunar-typescript · Last updated 2026-09-11