---
title: "2005 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Wood Rooster (乙酉), 9 Feb 2005 to 28 Jan 2006 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "2005 is the Year of the Wood Rooster, 鸡 jī: from Chinese New Year on 9 February 2005 to 28 January 2006, so a birthday before 9 February 2005 is a Monkey. What Wood means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属鸡."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2005"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 2005: Year of the Wood Rooster

2005 is the Year of the Rooster, 鸡 jī, a Wood year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 9 February 2005 and runs to 28 January 2006. Born from 1 January to 8 February 2005? You are a [Monkey, 2004](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2004).

鸡

jī

Wood Rooster

**Animal**
[鸡 jī Rooster](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/rooster)

**Element**
木 mù Wood, yin

**Cycle name**
乙酉年 yǐ yǒu nián

**Starts**
9 February 2005

**Ends**
28 January 2006

**Matches**
Ox, Snake and Dragon; clashes with Rabbit

**Age**
Born in 2005? You turn 21 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=2005-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 2005 in Chinese

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

- 二〇〇五年 èr líng líng wǔ nián 2005
- 乙酉年 yǐ yǒu nián the 乙酉 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇〇五年出生的 wǒ shì èr líng líng wǔ nián chū shēng de I was born in 2005.
- 我属鸡 wǒ shǔ jī I'm a Rooster.
- 木鸡 mù jī Wood Rooster

## What Wood means

木Wood is growth: a tree reaching up and out. People born in a Wood year are said to be generous and kind, slow to anger and quick to help.

**Season**
春 chūn spring

**Direction**
东 dōng east

**Colour**
青 qīng green

### Words for a Wood Rooster

- 自信 zìxìn confident
- 大方 dàfang generous
- 仁慈 réncí kind

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 Rooster, 鸡

The Rooster wakes the world each morning. People born in a Rooster year are said to be confident, hard-working and frank: early risers who notice every detail and say what they think.

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

## Questions

### What Chinese zodiac animal is 2005?

2005 is the Year of the Rooster, 鸡 (jī), from Chinese New Year on 9 February 2005 to 28 January 2006. Its element is Wood, so people born in it are Wood Roosters.

### What if I was born in January or early February 2005?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 8 February 2005? You belong to 2004, the Year of the Wood Monkey.

### What element is 2005 in the Chinese zodiac?

Wood, 木 (mù). 2005 is 乙酉 (yǐ yǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Wood year; the Wood Rooster comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 2005 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇〇五年 (èr líng líng wǔ nián). “I was born in 2005” is 我是二〇〇五年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng líng wǔ nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Rooster” is 我属鸡 (wǒ shǔ jī).