---
title: "1940 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Dragon (庚辰), 8 Feb 1940 to 26 Jan 1941 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "1940 is the Year of the Metal Dragon, 龙 lóng: from Chinese New Year on 8 February 1940 to 26 January 1941, so a birthday before 8 February 1940 is a Rabbit. What Metal means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属龙."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1940"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese zodiac](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac)

# 1940: Year of the Metal Dragon

1940 is the Year of the Dragon, 龙 lóng, a Metal year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 8 February 1940 and runs to 26 January 1941. Born from 1 January to 7 February 1940? You are a [Rabbit, 1939](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1939).

龙

lóng

Metal Dragon

**Animal**
[龙 lóng Dragon](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/dragon)

**Element**
金 jīn Metal, yang

**Cycle name**
庚辰年 gēng chén nián

**Starts**
8 February 1940

**Ends**
26 January 1941

**Matches**
Monkey, Rat and Rooster; clashes with Dog

**Age**
Born in 1940? You turn 86 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=1940-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 1940 in Chinese

A year is read digit by digit, then 年 nián: no “nineteen eighty-three”.

- 一九四〇年 yī jiǔ sì líng nián 1940
- 庚辰年 gēng chén nián the 庚辰 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是一九四〇年出生的 wǒ shì yī jiǔ sì líng nián chū shēng de I was born in 1940.
- 我属龙 wǒ shǔ lóng I'm a Dragon.
- 金龙 jīn lóng Metal Dragon

## What Metal means

金Metal is strength and a clean edge, the harvest of autumn. People born in a Metal year are said to be determined and clear-minded, sure of what they want.

**Season**
秋 qiū autumn

**Direction**
西 xī west

**Colour**
白 bái white

### Words for a Metal Dragon

- 有活力 yǒu huólì full of energy
- 坚强 jiānqiáng strong-willed
- 果断 guǒduàn decisive

Each year has one of five elements, 五行 wǔ xíng, two years each, so the same animal and element meet once every sixty years. The traits are what tradition says, for fun.

## The Dragon, 龙

The Dragon is the only one of the twelve that isn’t real, and the luckiest: emperors wore it, and many families hope for a Dragon baby. People born in a Dragon year are said to be ambitious, energetic and charismatic, people who think big.

[Dragon personality, matches and sayings](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/dragon)

## Questions

### What Chinese zodiac animal is 1940?

1940 is the Year of the Dragon, 龙 (lóng), from Chinese New Year on 8 February 1940 to 26 January 1941. Its element is Metal, so people born in it are Metal Dragons.

### What if I was born in January or early February 1940?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 7 February 1940? You belong to 1939, the Year of the Earth Rabbit.

### What element is 1940 in the Chinese zodiac?

Metal, 金 (jīn). 1940 is 庚辰 (gēng chén) in the sixty-year cycle, a yang Metal year; the Metal Dragon comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 1940 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 一九四〇年 (yī jiǔ sì líng nián). “I was born in 1940” is 我是一九四〇年出生的 (wǒ shì yī jiǔ sì líng nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Dragon” is 我属龙 (wǒ shǔ lóng).