2028 Chinese New Year Animal: The Year of the Monkey
2028 Chinese New Year falls on January 26 and begins the Year of the Monkey. Learn the Earth Monkey's element, personality traits, lucky items and zodiac compatibility.
3 readsOctober 27, 2026
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1. 2028 Chinese New Year Animal: Welcome to the Year of the Monkey
If you are searching for the 2028 Chinese New Year animal, the answer is the Monkey. Chinese New Year 2028 falls on January 26, 2028, and it opens the lunar year of the Earth Monkey (戊申, wù shēn). The celebration runs for fifteen days, ending with the Lantern Festival on February 9, 2028.
Because the Chinese calendar follows both the moon and the solar terms, the Year of the Monkey does not start on January 1. Anyone born between January 1 and January 25, 2028 still belongs to the previous zodiac sign — the Goat — for BaZi and zodiac purposes. This is one of the most common sources of confusion in Chinese astrology, and it is worth understanding before you read your own chart.
1.1. Why the Date Matters
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The lunar new year is calculated from the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2028 that new moon falls on January 26 in China Standard Time. If you were born close to this date, or in a time zone far from Beijing, the boundary can shift by a day. Traditional practitioners often convert a birth time to true solar time before assigning a zodiac sign, because clock time and sun time differ across a wide country. Our guide to true solar time explains how this correction works.
2. The Earth Monkey: Element and Character
Each zodiac animal is paired with one of the Five Elements in a sixty-year cycle. 2028 is an Earth Monkey year. The Monkey itself is a Yang sign associated with metal in its fixed element, but the annual element here is Earth — and Earth supports Metal. Traditionally this combination is described as steady, resourceful and practical rather than purely restless.
2.1. What Earth Adds to the Monkey
Grounded cleverness — the Monkey's quick mind is paired with patience and follow-through.
Preference for security — an emphasis on savings, planning and tangible results.
Realism in relationships — less showmanship, more reliability.
These are traditional readings, not forecasts. To see how elements interact in an individual chart, read our introduction to the Five Elements and the basics of BaZi.
2.2. Personality Traits Traditionally Linked to the Monkey
People born in Monkey years are often described as:
Curious and fast learners
Adaptable problem-solvers
Playful, with a good sense of humour
Confident in social settings
Sometimes impatient or over-clever
In Chinese folklore the Monkey is the trickster-hero — most famously Sun Wukong in Journey to the West. That cultural memory shapes how the sign is read: intelligent, energetic, occasionally mischievous, but rarely dull.
3. Monkey Birth Years and the 60-Year Cycle
The Earth Monkey returns every sixty years. Recent Monkey years include 1968 (Earth Monkey), 1980 (Metal Monkey), 1992 (Water Monkey), 2004 (Wood Monkey), 2016 (Fire Monkey) and 2028 (Earth Monkey). A person born in 1968 who is still active in 2028 is, in a sense, meeting their own annual sign again — a point traditional almanacs note with interest.
4. Lucky and Unlucky Associations
Traditional almanacs assign fixed correspondences to each sign. For the Monkey these are commonly given as:
4.1. Lucky
Numbers: 1, 7, 8
Colours: white, gold, blue
Directions: north, northwest, west
Flowers: chrysanthemum, crape myrtle
4.2. Less Favourable
Numbers: 2, 5, 9
Colours: red, deep pink (used sparingly)
Direction: south
These associations are cultural conventions rather than rules. If you enjoy working with them, you can apply them lightly — for example when choosing bedroom colours, a topic covered in our feng shui bedroom colours guide.
5. Zodiac Compatibility in a Monkey Year
5.1. Harmonious Signs
The Monkey forms a strong triangle with the Rat and the Dragon. These three signs are traditionally considered supportive partners in business and marriage. The Snake is the Monkey's secret friend, a pairing described as intellectually stimulating.
5.2. Challenging Pairings
The Monkey clashes with the Tiger (opposite sign) and is said to be at odds with the Pig. Traditional advice for such pairings is not to avoid them, but to communicate more deliberately and to give each other room.
5.3. What This Means for 2028
If you are planning a wedding, opening a business or signing a long contract in 2028, some families consult the almanac for an auspicious date. Our auspicious wedding dates 2028 article lists dates traditionally regarded as favourable, and you may also want to compare with the 2027 Chinese New Year animal if your planning spans both years.
6. The Monkey in Chinese Culture
Beyond astrology, the Monkey carries a rich symbolic load. It represents wit, agility and the ability to escape difficulty through intelligence. In opera and painting, monkeys appear as companions of immortals. In folk religion, the Monkey King is a protector figure. Temples in Fujian and Taiwan honour him with offerings of fruit, especially bananas and peaches.
6.1. Monkey and the Twelve Earthly Branches
The Monkey corresponds to the branch 申 (shēn), which governs roughly 3 pm to 5 pm — the late afternoon, when monkeys are said to be most active. In the compass school of feng shui, 申 sits in the west-southwest sector. Practitioners sometimes note that this sector should be kept tidy during Monkey years, a small habit that fits with general feng shui mirror placement advice about not cluttering reflective surfaces.
7. How to Prepare for 2028
You do not need to be superstitious to make use of the year's themes. A few practical, culturally grounded habits:
Clean before the new year. Sweeping the house before January 26 is traditional; sweeping on New Year's Day is said to sweep away luck.
Settle debts and mend relationships. The Monkey favours clever resolution — a good prompt to clear old friction.
Wear the year's lucky colours if you enjoy the custom, but treat it as decoration, not destiny.
Check your own chart. If you want a personalised reading rather than a general one, a BaZi consultation or a Zi Wei Dou Shu reading works from your exact birth data.
7.1. A Note on Predictions
Chinese astrology is a traditional symbolic system. Nothing in this article predicts specific events in your life, and nothing here should be used for medical, legal or financial decisions. Content is for reference only — treat it as cultural education and personal reflection.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
8.1. What animal is 2028 in the Chinese zodiac?
The Monkey — specifically the Earth Monkey (戊申).
8.2. When exactly does the Year of the Monkey begin?
January 26, 2028, the date of Chinese New Year. Babies born before that date fall under the previous year's sign in traditional reckoning.
8.3. Is 2028 a good year to have a baby?
Traditional almanacs do not rank years as good or bad for birth. Each sign has strengths and challenges, and a full chart depends on the month, day and hour of birth, not the year alone.
8.4. What is the next Monkey year after 2028?
2088, following the sixty-year cycle. The next Chinese New Year animal after 2028 is the Rooster in 2029.
9. Summary
The 2028 Chinese New Year animal is the Monkey, beginning January 26, 2028, in an Earth Monkey year. Expect cultural emphasis on cleverness, adaptability and practical resourcefulness — and remember that the date boundary, not January 1, is what counts in Chinese astrology.
2028 Chinese New Year Animal: Year of the Monkey — TripodTerra
