Year of the Monkey: Chinese Zodiac Sign, Personality, Compatibility

The ninth Chinese zodiac animal sign in Chinese astrology, the Monkey, is the chameleon of the zodiac signs. Monkeys can wear many hats in life—inventors, bankers, or even performing poets. No aspiration or lifestyle is out of reach for this adaptable and clever sign. They’re also connoisseurs of the good life, never forgetting for a second that the most important thing is the present moment.

A person’s zodiac animal is thought to affect every aspect of their horoscope and life, including work, love, luck, and more. For example, in Chinese culture, a couple’s families will consult fortune tellers to see if they’re a good match for each other based on their zodiac signs. It is also believed that when your zodiac birth year (Ben Ming Nian) comes back around, you could potentially offend the Guardian God of the year, leading to temporary bad luck.

Chinese Zodiac Years for Monkey

Chinese New Year usually falls in late January or early February. That is when each zodiac year starts on the Chinese calendar (lunar calendar). Check our Chinese zodiac calculator to make sure you’re a Monkey, especially if your birthday is in January of the Gregorian calendar. The most recent Monkey year was in 2016, while the next will be 2028, in accordance with the 12-year cycle of the zodiac.

Chinese Zodiac Sign Calculator

Rat

Chinese zodiac sign of Rat: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Ox

The Chinese zodiac sign of Ox: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Tiger

The Chinese zodiac sign of Tiger: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Rabbit

The Chinese zodiac sign of Rabbit: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Dragon

The Chinese zodiac sign of Dragon: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Snake

The Chinese zodiac sign of Snake: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Horse

The Chinese zodiac sign of the Horse: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Goat

The Chinese zodiac sign of Goat: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Monkey

The Chinese zodiac sign of Monkey: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Rooster

The Chinese zodiac sign of Rooster: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Dog

The Chinese zodiac sign of the Dog: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Pig

The Chinese zodiac sign of Pig: find out your personality traits, lucky and unlucky things, most compatible matches, best career paths, and more.

Chart of Monkey Years, Dates, and Elements

Monkey Year	Start of the Lunar Year	End of the Lunar Year	Element
1920	February 20, 1920	February 7, 1921	Metal
1932	February 6, 1932	January 25, 1933	Water
1944	January 25, 1944	February 12, 1945	Wood
1956	February 12, 1956	January 30, 1957	Fire
1968	January 30, 1968	February 16, 1969	Earth
1980	February 16, 1980	February 4, 1981	Metal
1992	February 4, 1992	January 22, 1993	Water
2004	January 22, 2004	February 8, 2005	Wood
2016	February 8, 2016	January 27, 2017	Fire
2028	January 26, 2028	February 12, 2029	Earth

Monkey Zodiac: Personality and Traits

Monkeys are cool and clever. They always seem to embody what’s hot at the moment, whether that be social media or artificial intelligence. They’re fast learners and ultimate adapters, comfortable in their own skin no matter where they travel around the world or what people they’re making their home beside—for now.

The Monkey is clever and adaptable, possessing a natural radiance that’s mesmerizing but may make them the subject of envy at times.

The Monkey can talk to almost anyone. They tend to be the center of attention with their natural charm and animalistic vitality. They may look nonchalant, but don’t believe for a second that the Monkey hasn’t worked hard to cultivate this allure because they’re also competitive and always want to be the best at whatever they do. Symbolically, the monkey is believed to have the ability to banish or protect against evil spirits. In terms of yin yang, the Chinese zodiac monkey is yang.

While Monkey people are immediately likable, over time, some may find them too cunning or strategic to have around. Frankly, the Monkey doesn’t need these people anyway, and criticism doesn’t mean a thing to this confident—at times overly so—sign that’s been taking care of themselves for as long as they can remember.

Male Monkeys

Male Monkeys are happy-go-lucky, but they also work hard using their agile mind. Success is easy to come by, but temptations will be difficult to resist. They don’t mind pursuing the object of their desire but will often lose interest as soon as they’re in a relationship. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, Monkey!

Female Monkeys

Female Monkeys may struggle in matters of the heart because they look for all the wrong things in their other half—like good looks, a passionate nature, and groveling at their feet. Female Monkeys will excel in the workplace with their personality, fashion sense, and ability to understand what will give them the greatest advantage in any situation.

Monkey and the Five Elements

Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are the five Chinese elements that are believed to govern everything, including the zodiac signs. Monkey is a metal sign, but in addition, you’ll be a Monkey of one of these five elements, depending on when you were born. If you were born in 1992, for example, you’re a Water Monkey, and that means you’re quite different from a Metal Monkey born in 1980.

Element	Year	Personality
Metal	1920, 1980	Metal Monkeys are intelligent, eloquent, and confident. They’re born to be entrepreneurs. However, they need to rein in their other natural tendency of manipulation because, sooner or later, karma will catch up with their past behavior. Prioritize learning and mastering your field of choice instead of looking for shortcuts. With your luck, everything should work out perfectly.
Water	1932, 1992	Water Monkeys are capable leaders, although they don’t understand the importance of at least appearing humble, which may make them the target of jealous types. Water Monkeys will be blessed with excellent love lives and plenty of wealth, but more than other Monkeys, they have a hard time turning away short-term temptations both in love and at work, which could spell doom in the long term.
Wood	1944, 2004	Wood Monkeys are enthusiastic, humble, and quite responsible for Monkeys. They tend to lack other Monkeys’ natural confidence, however, and would thrive under the right guidance and timely encouragement. They’re great with money and will work hard, which should see them build up successful careers in industries like banking, actuary, or real estate.
Fire	1956, 2016	Fire Monkeys are ambitious. A Fire Monkey’s clever mind is built for a business career, but they need to learn how to control their impatient nature and pluck their head out of the clouds for any real progress at work. They make friends easily and will likely meet the love of their life among their friends. These important people will help Fire Monkeys dodge many pitfalls in life.
Earth	1968, 2028	Earth Monkeys are optimistic and tenacious. They’re likely to come from a humble background and may have to rely on themselves from a young age. Thankfully, this spurs Earth Monkeys to work hard for a rightful place in the world, and by middle age, they should have built up not only a nest for themselves but also plenty of accumulated wealth to take care of those they love.

Lucky Things for Monkeys

Being a metal zodiac, colors, numbers, directions, and timing that are associated with the metal element bring luck to Monkeys, but those associated with fire—fire overcomes metal—are unlucky. We have listed a few lucky and unlucky things for the Monkey, but there are many more.

Lucky Things

Lucky numbers: 1, 7
Lucky colors: Gold, Silver
Lucky directions: North, Northwest
Lucky flowers: Chrysanthemum

Things to Avoid

Unlucky numbers: 2, 5
Unlucky colors: Red, Gray
Unlucky directions: Northeast
Other unlucky items and things to avoid: messy living space, scented candles

Compatibility: Best and Worst Matches for Monkey

Complex calculations involving the five-element system and the characteristics of the zodiac signs determine which signs can create harmonious and long-lasting romances and which can’t stand to be in the same room.

The Monkey’s quick wit and fun-loving nature are very attractive to many zodiac signs. Monkeys desire true love, and their social popularity makes meeting new people a breeze, but they may want to call it quits any time an obstacle comes up. Every relationship has its ups and downs, Monkey. It’s not exactly a deal breaker if you catch your partner picking their nose, alright?

The best romantic matches for the Monkey are the Rat, the Dragon, and the Snake. These zodiac signs complement the Monkey in different ways, making their love compatibility and long-term relationships a little easier to navigate for the fickle Monkey.

On the other hand, the Monkey doesn’t get along with the Tiger, the Rooster, or the Pig. Like in many relationships that don’t work, the Monkey just doesn’t see eye to eye with these signs, and they’re not the type to stick around something that doesn’t work.

Most Compatible: Rat, Dragon, Snake

The best zodiac matches for the Monkey are the Rat, the Dragon, and the Snake. The Monkey is practical and calculating, always wanting the best deal, and each of these three signs brings something unique to the union that the Monkey just can’t seem to get enough of.

The Monkey and the Rat make each other want to be better. Their union is characterized by both recognizing their partner’s unique qualities, which prompts both to grow and flourish. The Rat will likely take care of the physical home, while the Monkey will take charge of the couple’s finances, leading both areas of the union to thrive.

Both the Monkey and the Dragon are logical and hunger for progress in life. Even when conflict arises, these two can quickly talk it out and move on. They’ll share some common goals, such as saving for early retirement or buying a forever home, and both will contribute their fair share by giving everything and then more at work, knowing their partner is working towards the very same end.

The Monkey and the Snake may quarrel all the time, but this is a pairing that will never break up because their disagreements make their hearts grow fonder. Both are career-oriented, but both also know how to spice up the humdrum of daily life with small surprises to show their partner how much they care.

Least Compatible: Tiger, Pig

The Monkey is notoriously “unlucky” in love, which is just a code word for the Monkey’s fickle heart. While many signs may struggle with long-term relationships, Monkeys find it hardest of all, especially with the Tiger and the Pig.

To put it bluntly, a union between the Monkey and the Tiger may very well end with both partners straying outside the marriage. Neither is cold by nature, but for some reason, the Monkey and the Tiger never want to open up to their partner, preferring instead to seek comfort and affection elsewhere. It’s easier to part ways at that point.

Both the Monkey and the Pig become a bit avoidant in the marriage. The Monkey, being popular everywhere they go, will compensate for their failing relationship by flirting with others, while the Pig may begin to let themselves go—why bother to create a home when the other person is never there? It’s puzzling how these two decided to give it a go in the first place.

Best Jobs and Careers for Monkey

Monkeys can be almost anything they wish and can learn any skill quickly enough. The only professional drawback Monkeys suffer from is a lack of tenacity, especially if, to reach a goal, they must first engage in boring, hard work and monotonous tasks to pay their dues. In any case, Monkeys can make excellent diplomats, journalists, businessmen, investment professionals, and politicians.

In their own way, the Monkey is a highly ambitious sign. This is motivated by their need for attention. Excelling in a humble position won’t make this zodiac sign happy because they need to make a splash. Being photographed as a politician or diplomat or blowing the whistle as an investigative journalist will suit the Monkey perfectly.

Monkeys are also fantastic with numbers. Any number-related career, like banking, actuary, or accounting, will be a breeze for them. Monkeys will prefer trading, however, because it’s flashier, and the need to make split-second decisions and take risks give them the adrenaline rush they crave.

Health and Lifestyle Advice

Monkeys need stimulation to feel satisfied with life. They need the latest fashion, the best cars, and the biggest parties so that they can sleep soundly at night. This means two things: the Monkey is always short on, despite their talent at managing money, and they’re prone to running their health into the ground.

For the first, the Monkey may consider either hiring a prudent accountant—like the Ox—or finding their better half in a cautious sign like the Rat. Either way, they’ll be influenced to put away more than they spend. Their health, on the other hand, is something that the Monkey will only learn the importance of later on in life when their bodies simply cannot keep up with the all-night partying anymore. Oh well!

Monkey and the 12 Zodiac Animals (Origin Story)

Are you curious why the Monkey is the ninth zodiac sign? The Chinese have a legend that tells not only why the Monkey is included as a zodiac animal but also why, with its intelligence and agility, it didn’t place higher on the list of zodiac animals but instead had to settle for ninth place.

Legend has it that the Jade Emperor, who governs the heavens, ordered the animals to race across the celestial river to compete for a spot on the list of zodiac signs. The Monkey wanted to do well, but the event was too festive and exciting, so it kept looking around at the other animals and basking in the fanfare from the audience instead of buckling down to the race.

By the time the Monkey realized that it had to compete in the race to deserve the attention being showered on all the animals, it was too late. Eight other animals had already crossed the finish line, leaving this clever sign scrambling to have any place on the celestial list.

Famous People Born in the Year of the Monkey

Monkeys are flashy and gregarious, making them the center of attention in every situation. That’s why many famous people were born in the Chinese year of the Monkey. Here’s a list of famous Monkeys.

Will Smith
Theresa May
Jennifer Aniston
Elizabeth Taylor
Bob Marley
James Stewart
Zayn Malik
Cardi B
Selena Gomez
Miley Cyrus
Christina Aguilera
Kim Kardashian