Someone born in January 1980 — Goat or Monkey?

Goat. The Monkey year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1980, 00:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Goat year 己未. Chinese New Year 1980 fell on 16 February 1980, which is a different boundary again; classical chart work uses Lichun. Convert your birth moment to Beijing time before comparing it, because the Chinese calendar is defined on that meridian.

Why is 1980 called a Metal Monkey twice over?

Because both halves of the pillar carry the same element. The stem 庚 is Yang Metal, and the branch 申 — the Monkey itself — is fixed as Metal in the branch tables. 1980 is one of the years where the two agree, which is why tables that read the stem and tables that read the branch both print Metal Monkey. Its na yin, a third and older system, reads 石榴木 (Wood).

How old is someone born in 1980 in 2027?

46–47 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 48 by the nominal count (虚岁) that starts at one and rises at each Chinese New Year. The two answers differ because the ordinary count waits for the birthday and the nominal one does not. 1980 is one of 8 Monkey years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — None — but each is a different age.

1980 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Monkey (庚申)

庚申 Geng Shen · Yang Metal over the Monkey's Metal branch · number 57 of 60

1980 was a 庚申 (Geng Shen) year — the 57th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Metal Monkey year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 庚 (Yang Metal); the branch 申, the Monkey itself, carries Metal whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 石榴木 — a Wood na yin.

The 1980 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1980, 00:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1981, 4 Feb 1981, 05:55 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1980 fell on 16 February 1980, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1980 should check the table below before claiming a sign.

1980 is one of 8 Monkey years between 1924 and 2027, and the only Metal Monkey year in that span, because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 庚申 pillar last stood in 1920 and returns in 2040.

Which sign a 1980 birthday belongs to

Two rows, one boundary: the zodiac year turns at Lichun, not at midnight on 1 January and not at Chinese New Year.
Born between (Beijing time)	Stem and branch	Sign	Why
1 January 1980, 00:00 → 5 February 1980, 00:09	己未	Earth Goat	Still the Goat year that opened in 1979.
5 February 1980, 00:09 → 31 December 1980, 23:59	庚申	Metal Monkey	The Monkey year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1981.

Born on 1 January 1980? That is a Goat, not a Monkey: the Earth Goat year 己未 ran on until 5 February 1980 at 00:09 Beijing time.

Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1980 it fell at 00:09 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Monkey year, so a birth at 00:09 on that day is already a Monkey. Convert your own birth moment to Beijing time first — a birth in the Americas on the previous evening can already be past Lichun in Beijing. Check an exact birth date and time.

The 庚申 pillar

Every row is computed: the stem and branch from the Lichun boundary, the na yin from the sixty-cycle table, both dates from the Chinese calendar itself.
	1980
Stem and branch	庚申 (Geng Shen)
Place in the sixty-year cycle	57 of 60
Heavenly stem	庚 — Yang Metal 金
Earthly branch	申 — the Monkey 猴, fixed element Metal 金
Na yin (纳音)	石榴木 — a Wood na yin
Lichun (start of the zodiac year)	5 Feb 1980, 00:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8)
Chinese New Year	16 February 1980
Same pillar last seen / next seen	1920 / 2040

Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 庚申 belongs to 1920, 1980 and 2040 and to no year in between. That is why a sixtieth birthday is traditionally marked: it is the year the whole pillar comes back.

The Metal Monkey

Metal Monkey (Geng Shen) doubles the element and is the most concentrated version of the sign. Stem and branch both yang Metal gives descriptions of formidable competence, decisiveness and a willingness to cut — people, projects, arrangements — without much ceremony. The classical caution concerns hardness: the variant is advised to notice the cost of being right.

Five stems above one branch: the animal returns every twelve years, the exact pillar only every sixty, so the five variants are not evenly spread across any span shorter than that.
Variant	Stem and branch	Monkey years 1924–2027
Wood Monkey	甲申	1944, 2004
Fire Monkey	丙申	1956, 2016
Earth Monkey	戊申	1968
Metal Monkey	庚申	1980
Water Monkey	壬申	1932, 1992

Every Monkey year from 1924 to 2027

Born in 1980: the 2027 Goat year

The Tai Sui relationship and the lucky element belong to the sign, not to the birth year, so every Goat year on this site reads the same here; the ages do not.
	Monkey born 1980
Age at Lichun 2027	46–47
Nominal age 虚岁	48
Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui	None
Traditional reading	Steady — no direct relationship with the Tai Sui
Ben Ming Nian 本命年	No — 2027 is a Goat year
Lucky element for the year	Water · black, blue · 1, 6 · North

At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1980 is 46 if their birthday has not yet come round and 47 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 48 once New Year 2027 has passed.

The full reading — the month-by-month table, the five-element relationship with the year stem and the traditional remedies — is on Monkey in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Monkey profile.

Frequently asked questions

Someone born in January 1980 — Goat or Monkey?: Goat. The Monkey year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 5 Feb 1980, 00:09 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Goat year 己未. Chinese New Year 1980 fell on 16 February 1980, which is a different boundary again; classical chart work uses Lichun. Convert your birth moment to Beijing time before comparing it, because the Chinese calendar is defined on that meridian.
Why is 1980 called a Metal Monkey twice over?: Because both halves of the pillar carry the same element. The stem 庚 is Yang Metal, and the branch 申 — the Monkey itself — is fixed as Metal in the branch tables. 1980 is one of the years where the two agree, which is why tables that read the stem and tables that read the branch both print Metal Monkey. Its na yin, a third and older system, reads 石榴木 (Wood).
How old is someone born in 1980 in 2027?: 46–47 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 48 by the nominal count (虚岁) that starts at one and rises at each Chinese New Year. The two answers differ because the ordinary count waits for the birthday and the nominal one does not. 1980 is one of 8 Monkey years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — None — but each is a different age.