---
title: "2000 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Dragon (庚辰), 5 Feb 2000 to 23 Jan 2001 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "2000 is the Year of the Metal Dragon, 龙 lóng: from Chinese New Year on 5 February 2000 to 23 January 2001, so a birthday before 5 February 2000 is a Rabbit. What Metal means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属龙."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2000"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 2000: Year of the Metal Dragon

2000 is the Year of the Dragon, 龙 lóng, a Metal year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 5 February 2000 and runs to 23 January 2001. Born from 1 January to 4 February 2000? You are a [Rabbit, 1999](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/1999).

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**
5 February 2000

**Ends**
23 January 2001

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

**Age**
Born in 2000? You turn 26 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=2000-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 2000 in Chinese

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

- 二〇〇〇年 èr líng líng líng nián 2000
- 庚辰年 gēng chén nián the 庚辰 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇〇〇年出生的 wǒ shì èr líng líng líng nián chū shēng de I was born in 2000.
- 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 2000?

2000 is the Year of the Dragon, 龙 (lóng), from Chinese New Year on 5 February 2000 to 23 January 2001. Its element is Metal, so people born in it are Metal Dragons.

### What if I was born in January or early February 2000?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 4 February 2000? You belong to 1999, the Year of the Earth Rabbit.

### What element is 2000 in the Chinese zodiac?

Metal, 金 (jīn). 2000 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 2000 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇〇〇年 (èr líng líng líng nián). “I was born in 2000” is 我是二〇〇〇年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng líng líng nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Dragon” is 我属龙 (wǒ shǔ lóng).