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Chinese Zodiac 2020: Year of the Metal Rat

January 25, 2020 – February 11, 2021 · Yang

Born January 1 – January 24, 2020? You are an Earth Pig 🐖, because the Rat year only began at Lunar New Year on January 25.

The 2020 sign

Animal
🐀 Rat
Element
Metal
Yin / Yang
Yang
Lunar New Year
Saturday, Jan 25
Generation
Generation Alpha
Age in 2026
6

The Rat is said to be quick-witted, resourceful and charming.

Rat compatibility

Best matches (same trine)

🐉 Dragon 🐒 Monkey

Secret friend

🐂 Ox

Clashes with

🐎 Horse

Traditional Chinese astrology, for fun.

Other years of the Rat

Check another year

Born in January or February? Add the month and day — you may belong to the year before, because the Chinese year starts at Lunar New Year.

About the Chinese Zodiac

Chinese Zodiac tells you your animal sign and element from your birth year — and gets it right for January and February birthdays, which most charts miss. The Chinese zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, between January 21 and February 20, so someone born before it belongs to the previous year’s animal. Every year from 1924 to 2035 has a page with its exact start and end dates, its element and yin or yang, and every animal has a page listing its years and its best and worst matches.

How to use it

  1. 1 Enter your birth year, and the month and day if you were born in January or February.
  2. 2 See your animal, element and yin or yang.
  3. 3 Open your year to see when it started and ended.
  4. 4 Check the animals you match and clash with.

Frequently asked questions

What Chinese zodiac is 2020?

2020 is the year of the Metal Rat (Yang). It began at Lunar New Year on January 25, 2020 and ended on February 11, 2021.

I was born in January 2020 — am I a Rat?

Only if you were born on or after January 25. Anyone born from January 1 to January 24, 2020 belongs to the previous year: the Earth Pig.

Which signs match the Rat?

Traditionally the Rat gets on best with the Dragon and the Monkey, which share its trine, and with its “secret friend”, the Ox. It clashes with the Horse.

What are the 12 Chinese zodiac animals in order?

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The cycle repeats every 12 years, and each year also has one of five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water — giving a full cycle of 60 years.

What is the Chinese zodiac for 2026?

2026 is the year of the Fire Horse. It starts at Lunar New Year on February 17, 2026 and runs until February 5, 2027, when the year of the Fire Goat begins.

Why is my Chinese zodiac different from my birth year?

Because the Chinese zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year, not on January 1. If you were born in January or early February before that year’s Lunar New Year, your animal is the one for the year before. Enter your full birth date to check.

Where do the Lunar New Year dates come from?

They are worked out from the Chinese lunisolar calendar (the same calculation used by the Unicode ICU calendar library), which places Lunar New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice in Chinese time.