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2004 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Monkey
2004 is the year of the Wood Monkey, 甲申: from Chinese New Year on 22 January 2004 to 8 February 2005.
Clever, playful and inventive. The Monkey solves problems sideways and keeps everyone laughing while it does. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
The Wood Monkey
Element
Wood years are associated with growth and flexibility: spring, bamboo, new shoots. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Wood Monkey came last in 1944 and returns in 2064. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 泉中水.
Company
The Monkey shares a trine with the Rat and the Dragon; its secret friend is the Snake. Those signs are said to find a Monkey year easiest. Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of Journey to the West, is the most loved character in Chinese literature.
Years of the Monkey
Each starts at Chinese New Year.
- 1932Water Monkey, from 6 February 1932
- 1944Wood Monkey, from 25 January 1944
- 1956Fire Monkey, from 12 February 1956
- 1968Earth Monkey, from 30 January 1968
- 1980Metal Monkey, from 16 February 1980
- 1992Water Monkey, from 4 February 1992
- 2004Wood Monkey, from 22 January 2004
- 2016Fire Monkey, from 8 February 2016
- 2028Earth Monkey, from 26 January 2028
- 2040Metal Monkey, from 12 February 2040
Born in 2004?
Between 22 January 2004 and 8 February 2005 you are a Wood Monkey.
Anyone born from 22 January 2004 to 8 February 2005 is a Wood Monkey (甲申) and turns 22 in 2026. Clever, playful and inventive. The Monkey solves problems sideways and keeps everyone laughing while it does. Wood years favour growth and beginnings: planting, building, the first steps of long projects.
Born in January or early February 2004, before the 22 January 2004 new year? Then the previous animal, the Goat, is yours: the zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January. The zodiac calculator settles it from the exact date.
Your zodiac years (本命年, when the Monkey comes round again) are 2016, 2028, 2040, 2052; the next one is 2028. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Monkey best are the Rat, the Dragon and the Snake: the compatibility table has every pair.
Questions
What is the Chinese zodiac for 2004?
2004 is the Year of the Wood Monkey. Anyone born from 22 January 2004 to 8 February 2005 is a Monkey; a birthday earlier in 2004, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Goat.
When does the Year of the Monkey 2004 start and end?
It starts at Chinese New Year, 22 January 2004, and ends on 8 February 2005, the day before the next new year.
What element is the Monkey in 2004?
Wood (木), from the heavenly stem 甲. Wood years are associated with growth and flexibility: spring, bamboo, new shoots.
Is a baby born in January 2004 a Monkey?
No. A baby born before 22 January 2004 belongs to the previous animal, the Goat. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.
Which other years were Wood Monkey years?
1944. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.
Your Monkey in ink
The Monkey painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.
Make the poster
Enter your birthday; we set the animal, the element, the lunar date and your name, and add a Chinese name as a seal if you have one.
Start with my birthdayMore about the animal: Year of the Monkey. All twelve: the zodiac.