Year of the Monkey: the Chinese zodiac Monkey and 猴 in Chinese
The Monkey, 猴 hóu, is the ninth animal of the Chinese zodiac. It follows the Goat and comes before the Rooster. Monkey years are 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028.
The last Monkey year was 2016, and the next one is 2028, the Year of the Earth Monkey, 戊申. It begins on January 26, 2028 and lasts until February 12, 2029, right after the Year of the Goat.
Like every zodiac year, a Monkey year starts on Chinese New Year, not on January 1, and the holiday moves between late January and mid-February. Below: every Monkey year with its exact dates, then the Chinese. The word for monkey and how to say it, the Monkey King everyone in China grows up with, two idioms worth knowing, and how to say "I'm a Monkey".
Years of the Monkey
| Year | Starts | Ends | Element | In Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | February 6, 1932 | January 25, 1933 | Water Monkey | 壬申 · 水猴 |
| 1944 | January 25, 1944 | February 12, 1945 | Wood Monkey | 甲申 · 木猴 |
| 1956 | February 12, 1956 | January 30, 1957 | Fire Monkey | 丙申 · 火猴 |
| 1968 | January 30, 1968 | February 16, 1969 | Earth Monkey | 戊申 · 土猴 |
| 1980 | February 16, 1980 | February 4, 1981 | Metal Monkey | 庚申 · 金猴 |
| 1992 | February 4, 1992 | January 22, 1993 | Water Monkey | 壬申 · 水猴 |
| 2004 | January 22, 2004 | February 8, 2005 | Wood Monkey | 甲申 · 木猴 |
| 2016 | February 8, 2016 | January 27, 2017 | Fire Monkey | 丙申 · 火猴 |
| 2028 | January 26, 2028 | February 12, 2029 | Earth Monkey | 戊申 · 土猴 |
| 2040 | February 12, 2040 | January 31, 2041 | Metal Monkey | 庚申 · 金猴 |
The Monkey in Chinese: 猴 and 猴子
The zodiac uses the single character 猴 hóu: 猴年 hóu nián is the Year of the Monkey, 属猴 shǔ hóu "born in a Monkey year". But when you talk about a real monkey, at the zoo or on a mountain, you add the light syllable 子 zi, the way 老虎 is the everyday tiger and 兔子 the rabbit: .
The character is built like most Chinese characters, from a meaning part and a sound part. On the left, 犭 marks animals; on the right, 侯, also read hóu, gives the sound. Say it with the second tone, rising: "hoe?", as if you were asking. The Chinese h is breathier than the English one, closer to the "ch" in Scottish "loch", but softer.
The Monkey's earthly branch is 申 shēn, which also marks the hours from 3 to 5 p.m. In modern Chinese you'll meet it in , as in applying for a visa or a university.
- 山上有一群猴子。shānshangyǒuyìqúnhóuziThere is a troop of monkeys on the mountain.
- 猴子很聪明，也很调皮。hóuzihěncōngming,yěhěntiáopíMonkeys are clever, and naughty too.
- 可以喂猴子吗？kěyǐwèihóuzimaCan we feed the monkeys?
- 别摸那只猴子，它会咬人。biémōnàzhīhóuzi,tāhuìyǎorénDon't touch that monkey, it bites.
The Monkey King: 孙悟空 Sun Wukong
Ask anyone in China about monkeys and they'll mention 孙悟空 Sūn Wùkōng, the Monkey King of 西游记 Xīyóujì, Journey to the West, one of the four great classical novels, written in the 16th century. He is born from a stone, makes himself king of the monkeys, learns seventy-two transformations and a somersault that carries him thousands of miles on a cloud. He then gives himself the title 齐天大圣 Qí Tiān Dà Shèng, "Great Sage Equal to Heaven", and turns the court of heaven upside down.
The Buddha traps him under a mountain for five hundred years. He gets out on one condition: to protect the monk Tang Sanzang, 唐僧 Tángsēng, on his long journey to India to bring back the Buddhist scriptures. Most of the novel is that journey, with demons to fight at every turn and the Monkey's magic staff doing most of the fighting.
You probably know him already without knowing it: Goku in Dragon Ball takes his name from the Japanese reading of 孙悟空, and the 2024 game Black Myth: Wukong retells the legend. His name is a lesson in itself: 孙 is a surname, a play on 猢狲 húsūn, an old word for monkey, and 悟空 means "awakened to emptiness", a Buddhist name his teacher gave him. Children call him by another title too, 美猴王 Měi Hóuwáng, "the Handsome Monkey King".
Chinese idioms with the monkey
- 猴年马月hóuniánmǎyuèwho knows when; neverliterally "in the year of the monkey, in the month of the horse": a date so far off nobody can name it. Like "when pigs fly".
- 杀鸡儆猴shājījǐnghóuto punish one as a warning to othersliterally "kill the chicken to frighten the monkey"
- 金丝猴jīnsīhóugolden snub-nosed monkeyliterally "golden-thread monkey", a protected species of China's mountain forests
猴年马月 is the one to try out: "I'll learn all the characters 猴年马月" gets a laugh. More sayings with animals, from horses to frogs, are in Chinese proverbs and idioms.
How to say "I'm a Monkey" in Chinese
You need one verb, , literally "to belong to", followed by the animal in one syllable. So it's 属猴, not 属猴子.
- 我属猴。wǒshǔhóuI'm a Monkey.
- 你属什么？nǐshǔshénmeWhat's your zodiac sign?
- 我和姐姐都属龙。wǒhéjiějiedōushǔlóngMy older sister and I are both Dragons.swap 龙 for 猴 and it is about two Monkeys
The question 你属什么？ is a polite way of finding out someone's age: once you know their animal, you can guess the year to within a round of twelve, 一轮 yì lún. Two Monkeys are either the same age or a whole number of rounds apart.
Monkey personality in Chinese tradition
Tradition gives the Monkey the sharpest wits of the twelve: quick, curious, inventive and full of jokes, in a word . The flip side is the Monkey King's own: restless, bored by routine and a little . It's folklore, and Chinese people treat it with a smile.
The element of a Monkey year changes with the 60-year cycle: Wood Monkey, 甲申 (1944 and 2004); Fire Monkey, 丙申 (1956 and 2016); Earth Monkey, 戊申 (1968 and 2028); Metal Monkey, 庚申 (1980 and 2040); Water Monkey, 壬申 (1932 and 1992). 2028 brings the Earth Monkey.
Monkey compatibility
In Chinese tradition the Monkey's best partners are the Rat and the Dragon. Signs four years apart form a trine, 三合 sānhé, and these three are the "water" trine. The sign that clashes, 六冲 liùchōng, is the Tiger, opposite the Monkey on the circle.
The Monkey's 本命年 in 2028
本命年 běnmìngnián, "your own year", is the year of your animal, once every twelve years. Folk belief says it needs a little protection, and the protection is the color : red socks, red underwear, a red string on the wrist. If you were born in 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, your next 本命年 is 2028, from January 26, 2028.
The 12 Chinese zodiac animals
All the years in one table: the Chinese zodiac chart. The holiday that starts each zodiac year is in Chinese New Year, and what to wish people in Chinese New Year greetings.
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