---
title: "2021 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Ox (辛丑), 12 Feb 2021 to 31 Jan 2022 | Mandarin The Wild"
description: "2021 is the Year of the Metal Ox, 牛 niú: from Chinese New Year on 12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022, so a birthday before 12 February 2021 is a Rat. What Metal means, and how to say it in Chinese: 我属牛."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2021"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-26"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# 2021: Year of the Metal Ox

2021 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 niú, a Metal year. It starts at Chinese New Year on 12 February 2021 and runs to 31 January 2022. Born from 1 January to 11 February 2021? You are a [Rat, 2020](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/2020).

牛

niú

Metal Ox

**Animal**
[牛 niú Ox](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac/ox)

**Element**
金 jīn Metal, yin

**Cycle name**
辛丑年 xīn chǒu nián

**Starts**
12 February 2021

**Ends**
31 January 2022

**Matches**
Snake, Rooster and Rat; clashes with Goat

**Age**
Born in 2021? You turn 5 in 2026.

[Save or share this card](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-zodiac?d=2021-06-15) from the zodiac finder.

## Say 2021 in Chinese

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

- 二〇二一年 èr líng èr yī nián 2021
- 辛丑年 xīn chǒu nián the 辛丑 year, its name in the sixty-year cycle
- 我是二〇二一年出生的 wǒ shì èr líng èr yī nián chū shēng de I was born in 2021.
- 我属牛 wǒ shǔ niú I'm a Ox.
- 金牛 jīn niú Metal Ox

## 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 Ox

- 勤劳 qínláo hard-working
- 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 Ox, 牛

The Ox carried the Rat across the river and came in second. People born in an Ox year are said to be patient, honest and hard-working: slow to start, and then impossible to stop.

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

## Questions

### What Chinese zodiac animal is 2021?

2021 is the Year of the Ox, 牛 (niú), from Chinese New Year on 12 February 2021 to 31 January 2022. Its element is Metal, so people born in it are Metal Oxs.

### What if I was born in January or early February 2021?

The zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, not on 1 January. Born from 1 January to 11 February 2021? You belong to 2020, the Year of the Metal Rat.

### What element is 2021 in the Chinese zodiac?

Metal, 金 (jīn). 2021 is 辛丑 (xīn chǒu) in the sixty-year cycle, a yin Metal year; the Metal Ox comes round once every sixty years.

### How do you say 2021 in Chinese?

Read the digits one by one and add 年 (nián, year): 二〇二一年 (èr líng èr yī nián). “I was born in 2021” is 我是二〇二一年出生的 (wǒ shì èr líng èr yī nián chū shēng de), and “I'm a Ox” is 我属牛 (wǒ shǔ niú).