2020 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Rat (庚子)
庚子 Geng Zi · Yang Metal over the Rat's Water branch · number 37 of 60
2020 was a 庚子 (Geng Zi) year — the 37th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Metal Rat year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 庚 (Yang Metal); the branch 子, the Rat itself, carries Water whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 壁上土 — an Earth na yin.
The 2020 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2020, 17:03 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 2021, 3 Feb 2021, 22:58 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 2020 fell on 25 January 2020, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 2020 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
2020 is one of 9 Rat years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Metal Rat years in that span (1960 and 2020), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 庚子 pillar last stood in 1960 and returns in 2080.
Which sign a 2020 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2020, 00:00 → 4 February 2020, 17:03 | 己亥 | Earth Pig | Still the Pig year that opened in 2019. |
| 4 February 2020, 17:03 → 31 December 2020, 23:59 | 庚子 | Metal Rat | The Rat year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 2021. |
Born on 1 January 2020? That is a Pig, not a Rat: the Earth Pig year 己亥 ran on until 4 February 2020 at 17:03 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 2020 it fell at 17:03 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Rat year, so a birth at 17:03 on that day is already a Rat. 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 庚子 pillar
| 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 庚子 (Geng Zi) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 37 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 庚 — Yang Metal 金 |
| Earthly branch | 子 — the Rat 鼠, fixed element Water 水 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 壁上土 — an Earth na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 2020, 17:03 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 25 January 2020 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1960 / 2080 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 庚子 belongs to 1960, 2020 and 2080 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 Rat
Metal Rat (Geng Zi) has the branch's element produced by the stem, Metal generating Water, so the reserves are constantly topped up. Geng Zi is described as decisive and hard-edged, quicker to cut a losing arrangement than the other four. The classical warning attaches to sharpness in speech: the sign is read as saying the accurate thing at the least comfortable moment.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Rat years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Rat | 甲子 | 1924, 1984 |
| Fire Rat | 丙子 | 1936, 1996 |
| Earth Rat | 戊子 | 1948, 2008 |
| Metal Rat | 庚子 | 1960, 2020 |
| Water Rat | 壬子 | 1972 |
Every Rat year from 1924 to 2027
- 1924Wood Rat
- 1936Fire Rat
- 1948Earth Rat
- 1960Metal Rat
- 1972Water Rat
- 1984Wood Rat
- 1996Fire Rat
- 2008Earth Rat
- 2020Metal Rat · this page
Born in 2020: the 2027 Goat year
| Rat born 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 6–7 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 8 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Harm 害太岁 |
| Traditional reading | Mixed — a minor Tai Sui affliction |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Metal · white, gold · 4, 9 · West |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 2020 is 6 if their birthday has not yet come round and 7 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 8 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 Rat in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Rat profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 2020 — Pig or Rat?
- Pig. The Rat year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2020, 17:03 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Pig year 己亥. Chinese New Year 2020 fell on 25 January 2020, 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.
- Is 2020 a Metal Rat or a Water Rat?
- Metal Rat, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 2020 is 庚 — Yang Metal. The Water belongs to the branch 子, the Rat's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Rat year to the next. So 2020 is a Metal stem sitting over a water branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 壁上土.
- How old is someone born in 2020 in 2027?
- 6–7 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 8 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. 2020 is one of 9 Rat years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Harm 害太岁 — but each is a different age.