2021: Year of the Metal Ox
The 2021 Chinese zodiac year is the Yin Metal Ox, and it runs from 12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022 — not from 1 January.
- Animal
- Ox 牛
- Element and polarity
- Yin Metal
- Gan-Zhi
- Xin Chou 辛丑
- Age this zodiac year
- Born in 2021, a person turns 5 during the 2026 year
Born early in 2021? You may be Rat, not Ox
Chinese New Year 2021 fell on 12 February 2021. Anyone born between 1 January 2021 and 11 February 2021 — a window of 42 days — belongs to the 2020 zodiac year, the Yang Metal Rat, and not to the Ox.
Check an exact birth date against the 12 February 2021 boundary.
Exact 2021 zodiac year dates
The 2021 lunar year ran its ordinary twelve months, 354 days in total.
Other Ox years around 2021
| Ox year | Complete name | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Yin Wood Ox | 20 February 1985 |
| 1997 | Yin Fire Ox | 7 February 1997 |
| 2009 | Yin Earth Ox | 26 January 2009 |
| 2033 | Yin Water Ox | 31 January 2033 |
| 2045 | Yin Wood Ox | 17 February 2045 |
| 2057 | Yin Fire Ox | 4 February 2057 |
The exact pairing 辛丑 — Yin Metal Ox — returns only once every sixty years: 1901, 1961, 2081.