Born in 2040: the Monkey

Anyone born in 2040 is a Metal Monkey. The year's traditional two-part name is 庚申 (gēngshēn), number 57 in the 60-year cycle, and it is a yang year, the active, outgoing half of the cycle. The base Monkey traits (clever, playful, curious) come filtered through a determined, disciplined and self-reliant Metal tone.

The 2040 lunar year runs from February 12, 2040 up to the day before Chinese New Year 2041 (February 1, 2041). Anyone born on or after February 12, 2040 will be a Monkey; a baby born earlier in 2040 belongs to the previous year's sign, the Goat.

Calendar note: 2040's Chinese New Year falls on a Sunday, and that lunar year will run 355 days — an ordinary 12-month lunar year.

What the Metal element adds

Metal is the element of autumn, structure and resolve. A Metal year sharpens focus and independence: a Metal animal knows what it wants and pursues it directly, sometimes at the cost of flexibility.

The full 60-year cycle pairs each of the 12 animals with each of the 5 elements, so a Metal Monkey year comes around only once every 60 years — the last one before 2040 was 1980, and the next is 2100. People born in it are said to combine clever and playful with the element's determined nature. Every Monkey year is yang (the active, outgoing type). See the Metal element and the full Metal Monkey profile.

2040 at a glance

Animal	🐒 Monkey (猴)
Element	Metal
Yin or yang	yang
Traditional year name	庚申 (gēngshēn)
Place in the 60-year cycle	57 of 60
Zodiac year runs	February 12, 2040 to January 31, 2041
Traditional best match	Snake
Traditional hardest match	Tiger
Lucky numbers	4, 9
Lucky colors	white, gold, blue

Monkey compatibility

In the traditional chart, a 2040 Monkey gets on best with the Snake (the "secret friend" pairing), and also with Rat and Dragon. The hardest pairing is the Tiger, six years apart in the cycle. See the full Monkey compatibility table.

Where a birthday around 2040 lands

The zodiac year does not follow the calendar year, so 2040 is spread across two calendar years. This table shows exactly which animal a birthday gets.

Birthday	Zodiac animal
January 1 to February 11, 2040	Goat (the 2039 year)
February 12, 2040 to December 31, 2040	Monkey
January 1, 2041 to January 31, 2041	Monkey (still the 2040 year)
February 1, 2041 onward	Rooster (the 2041 year)

Zodiac years ahead for a 2040 Monkey

Someone born in 2040 reaches their first own-sign year at 12, in 2052, and again in 2064. Tradition calls this your běnmìngnián. Despite being "your" year, it is thought to clash with Tài Suì (the God of Age) and to carry a higher chance of setbacks, so many people wear red through it for protection.

The element pair: 2040 and 2041

Metal years come in pairs. 2040 is the yang year and 2041 is the yin year, the Rooster. So a 2040 Monkey and a 2041 Rooster share an element and sit one year apart in the cycle. The traditional chart rates the Monkey and Rooster pairing as moderate: it has no special bond or conflict, so how well it goes depends on the two people more than on the calendar. See the Monkey and Rooster pairing.

Other Monkey years

1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 2028

Full Monkey personality profile →   Monkey compatibility with every sign →

Know your exact birth date? Use the calculator for your full combination →

What a Metal year changes for the Monkey

Talking. The Metal element shows up in how a 2040 Monkey speaks: it gets more guarded about it, saying less than it's actually thinking. Another element on the same animal would sound different.

Work. In 2040 the Metal element sharpens and hardens the Monkey's habits at work, so this version runs things with a sharper, less negotiable edge than most. It changes the style, not the choice of career.

Love. A 2040 Monkey shows affection through direct, no-nonsense gestures. That follows from the element: metal is the element of autumn, structure and resolve.

For the sign as a whole (how the Monkey communicates, works and loves in every element) see the Monkey profile. This page covers what is different about 2040.

Known Monkeys

Will Smith, Celine Dion, Tom Hanks, Kim Kardashian are among the names most often cited as Monkeys, though none of them was born in the 2040 lunar year. They're referenced here as examples of the animal's clever streak generally, not proof of what a Metal Monkey specifically looks like.