--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 2040? Year of the Metal Monkey" description: "2040 is the Year of the Metal Monkey in the Chinese zodiac, from February 12, 2040 to January 31, 2041. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2040 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 2040? Year of the Metal Monkey In Chinese astrology, 2040 is the Year of the Metal Monkey, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 12, 2040 and ended on January 31, 2041, so people born in 2040 before Feb 12 belong to the Earth Goat year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Monkey · Metal · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 12, 2040 | | Ends | January 31, 2041 | | Born in 2040 before Feb 12 | Earth Goat (the 2039 year) | | Monkey's fixed element | Metal (Metal year element matches the fixed element) | | Other Metal Monkey years (1924-2044) | 1980 | | Stem-branch name | Geng-Shen | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Sunday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 6 | ## 2040 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Metal Monkey year on February 12, 2040, and the year ran to January 31, 2041. So a birth date of Feb 12, 2040 or later counts as Metal Monkey, and so do early 2041 birthdays through Jan 31; births in 2040 before Feb 12 still belong to the Earth Goat. 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: 1980 are Metal Monkey years too. That Sunday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Metal Monkey is like Double Metal gives this Monkey year a reputation for brilliance and independence. Those born now are pictured as ambitious, capable and competitive, at their best with challenging work. Small acts of vulnerability, spontaneous adventures and guarding rest help their competence come with warmth, deepening the trust others place in them. Their humour, when they let it out, is quick, sharp and often very funny. 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. ## 2040 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year's digits come to 6, linked with home, care and responsibility, so a 6 year is read as one centred on family and commitments. The digits of 2040 add up to 6. The Monkey holds the ninth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Metal. Set beside the year's Metal stem, metal year element matches the fixed element, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Earth Goat and the year after is the Metal Rooster. Chinese almanacs name 2040 Geng-Shen, pairing the Metal stem Geng with the branch Shen. 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 2040? 2040 is the Year of the Metal Monkey. It started on February 12, 2040 and ended on January 31, 2041. ### What if I was born in January or February 2040? Check the date against Feb 12. Born before February 12, 2040, you are a Earth Goat; born on or after it, you are a Metal Monkey. ### What element is 2040 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, a Yang year. The Monkey's own fixed element is Metal; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 2040? Geng-Shen. 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 Monkey year? 2100, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1980. ## Related pages - [Metal Monkey](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-monkey) - [Monkey](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/monkey) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [2039 (Earth Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2039) - [2041 (Metal Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2041) - [2028 (Earth Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2028) - [1980 (Metal Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1980) - [2016 (Fire Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2016) - [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.