--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1931? Year of the Metal Goat" description: "1931 is the Year of the Metal Goat in the Chinese zodiac, from February 17, 1931 to February 5, 1932. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1931 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1931? Year of the Metal Goat In Chinese astrology, 1931 is the Year of the Metal Goat, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 17, 1931 and ended on February 5, 1932, so people born in 1931 before Feb 17 belong to the Metal Horse year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Goat · Metal · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 17, 1931 | | Ends | February 5, 1932 | | Born in 1931 before Feb 17 | Metal Horse (the 1930 year) | | Goat's fixed element | Earth (Earth generates Metal) | | Other Metal Goat years (1924-2044) | 1991 | | Stem-branch name | Xin-Wei | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Tuesday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 5 | ## When the 1931 Metal Goat year starts and ends The 1931 Metal Goat year began at Lunar New Year on February 17, 1931 and lasted until February 5, 1932, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Feb 17 1931 therefore belongs to the Metal Horse year that started in 1930, while someone born in early 1932, up to Feb 5, is still a Metal Goat. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, which is why the start date moves between January 21 and February 20 instead of staying on January 1. The same Metal Goat combination also falls in 1991, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1931 fell on a Tuesday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Metal Goat personality A Metal Goat year adds backbone to the gentlest sign in the cycle. The Goat's Earth feeds Metal, so traditional readings describe people born then as artistic but disciplined, sensitive but surprisingly firm about what they value. Their taste is often refined and their loyalty protective. The caution is perfectionism and private insecurity, which gentle self-talk tends to ease. Beauty and order matter to them in equal measure. Metal is the element of autumn and harvest, and a Metal year is traditionally said to sharpen whatever animal it meets. Descriptions associate it with determination, discipline, clear judgement and a strong code of principle. Metal-year people are often portrayed as decisive, self-reliant and willing to do difficult things because they are right. The element is linked with refinement and with cutting away what is unnecessary, so it tends to bring focus and high standards. Its traditional shadow is rigidity: Metal can become inflexible, proud or emotionally guarded, preferring to be correct over being close, and finding it hard to bend once a position is taken. ## 1931 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the year reduces to 5, the number of change, freedom and movement, and a 5 year is usually described as restless and full of variety. The digits of 1931 add up to 14, which reduces to 5. In the twelve-year cycle the Goat is the eighth animal, earthly branch Wei, with Earth as its fixed element and Yin polarity. The year element is Metal, and in the five-element cycles earth generates Metal. The year before was the Metal Horse and the year after is the Water Monkey. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Xin-Wei: Xin is the Metal heavenly stem and Wei is the Goat's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yin stems only ever meet yin animals. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1931? 1931 is the Year of the Metal Goat. It started on February 17, 1931 and ended on February 5, 1932. ### What if I was born in January or February 1931? Check the date against Feb 17. Born before February 17, 1931, you are a Metal Horse; born on or after it, you are a Metal Goat. ### What element is 1931 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, a Yin year. The Goat's own fixed element is Earth; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1931? Xin-Wei. The first part is the heavenly stem, which carries the year's element and polarity; the second is the earthly branch, which carries the animal. Almanacs, calendars and Four Pillars charts identify years this way rather than by animal alone. ### When is the next Metal Goat year? 1991, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1991. ## Related pages - [Metal Goat](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-goat) - [Goat](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/goat) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1930 (Metal Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1930) - [1932 (Water Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1932) - [1943 (Water Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1943) - [1991 (Metal Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1991) - [1955 (Wood Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1955) - [Chinese zodiac calculator](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac-calculator) - [Chinese zodiac](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac) ## About Unified Reading Unified Reading combines Pythagorean numerology, the Western Sun sign (Moon and rising with a birth time), the Chinese zodiac and life-stage context in one reading. The preview is free at https://unifiedreading.com/#details; the full reading is $4.99, paid once through Stripe, with no subscription. A fictional sample is at https://unifiedreading.com/sample. With a birth time and place it adds whole sign houses and the chart ruler; it does not calculate planetary aspects or transits, and it is a framework for reflection, not a prediction.