2021 Chinese Zodiac: Metal Ox
People born in 2021 are Yin Metal Oxs, with one important exception: the first weeks of the year.
Quick answer
The 2021 zodiac year ran from February 12, 2021 to January 31, 2022. If you were born on or after February 12, 2021, your sign is the Metal Ox. If you were born earlier in 2021, you belong to the Metal Rat of 2020.
Metal Ox personality
Steady, hard-working and dependable.
The Ox is the second animal of the zodiac and a symbol of agriculture, patience and honest labor. Oxen are reliable, methodical and grounded, the people who carry a project to the end without making a fuss.
Metal years add determination, discipline and focus. Metal people tend to be organized, ambitious and self-reliant.
Strengths: Dependable and honest, Hard-working and patient, Strong sense of duty, Calm under pressure, Practical. Watch for: Stubborn, Resistant to change, Reserved, Workaholic, Slow to forgive.
Read the full Ox guide for love, career and compatibility.
Born early in 2021?
The Chinese zodiac follows the lunisolar calendar, so a January or February birth often belongs to the previous animal. In 2021, Chinese New Year fell on February 12, 2021. Anyone born before that date is a Metal Rat instead. See the Rat guide.
2021 zodiac year facts
- Chinese New Year 2021 fell on a Friday, February 12, 2021.
- The Ox year lasted 354 days, slightly shorter than a calendar year.
- Anyone born in the first 42 days of 2021 (January 1 to February 12, 2021) belongs to the previous sign.
- People born in 2021 turn 5 or 4 during 2026, depending on their birthday.
- The same Metal Ox combination appears every 60 years: previously in 1961.
Other Ox years: 1997, 2009. Each has a different element, which colors the animal's traits.
Ox compatibility
The Ox is traditionally most harmonious with Snake and Rooster, and tends to clash with the Goat.
Near 2021, the Ox's harmonious partners were born in: Snake: 2025; Rooster: 2017.
The Chinese zodiac is a cultural tradition offered for reflection and entertainment.