--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 2020? Year of the Metal Rat" description: "2020 is the Year of the Metal Rat in the Chinese zodiac, from January 25, 2020 to February 11, 2021. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2020 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 2020? Year of the Metal Rat In Chinese astrology, 2020 is the Year of the Metal Rat, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 25, 2020 and ended on February 11, 2021, so people born in 2020 before Jan 25 belong to the Earth Pig year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Rat · Metal · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 25, 2020 | | Ends | February 11, 2021 | | Born in 2020 before Jan 25 | Earth Pig (the 2019 year) | | Rat's fixed element | Water (Metal generates Water) | | Other Metal Rat years (1924-2044) | 1960 | | Stem-branch name | Geng-Zi | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Saturday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 4 | ## 2020 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Metal Rat year on January 25, 2020, and the year ran to February 11, 2021. So a birth date of Jan 25, 2020 or later counts as Metal Rat, and so do early 2021 birthdays through Feb 11; births in 2020 before Jan 25 still belong to the Earth Pig. That moving boundary comes from the lunisolar calendar, in which the new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, so its Gregorian date shifts by up to a month from one year to the next. Look sixty years either side and the pairing repeats: 1960 are Metal Rat years too. That Saturday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Metal Rat is like Resourcefulness with a steel core defines this Rat year. Since Metal feeds Water, readings picture people born now as clear-sighted, determined and capable, with strong opinions about what they want. Sharing worries with a trusted friend, and asking open questions before stating a view, help keep their capability warm rather than rigid. Their loyalty, once won, tends to be remarkably durable and quietly practical in hard times. Belonging to the west and to the clear, cool air of autumn, Metal adds edge, resolve and structure to any sign it colours. Classical texts connect it with righteousness, strength of will and the ability to see a situation without sentiment. A Metal stem often makes an animal more ambitious, more organised and more self-contained than usual. People born in Metal years are frequently described as loyal to their word and tireless once committed. The caution most readings add is a hardness that can isolate them, along with perfectionism and a reluctance to admit doubt or ask for help. ## 2020 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the digits reduce to 4, the number of structure, effort and foundations, which gives a 4 year a reputation for steady, practical work. The digits of 2020 add up to 4. The Rat holds the first place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Water. Set beside the year's Metal stem, metal generates Water, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Earth Pig and the year after is the Metal Ox. Chinese almanacs name 2020 Geng-Zi, pairing the Metal stem Geng with the branch Zi. Both are Yang, as stem and branch always share a polarity, so of the hundred and twenty possible pairings only sixty ever occur, and each one names a single year in every cycle. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 2020? 2020 is the Year of the Metal Rat. It started on January 25, 2020 and ended on February 11, 2021. ### What if I was born in January or February 2020? Check the date against Jan 25. Born before January 25, 2020, you are a Earth Pig; born on or after it, you are a Metal Rat. ### What element is 2020 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, a Yang year. The Rat's own fixed element is Water; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 2020? Geng-Zi. 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 Rat year? 2080, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1960. ## Related pages - [Metal Rat](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-rat) - [Rat](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/rat) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [2019 (Earth Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2019) - [2021 (Metal Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2021) - [2008 (Earth Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2008) - [2032 (Water Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2032) - [1960 (Metal Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1960) - [1996 (Fire Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1996) - [2044 (Wood Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2044) - [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.