1971 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Pig

沉浸 TeamAugust 26, 20264 min read

The 1971 Chinese zodiac animal is the Pig. More precisely, 1971 was the Year of the Metal Pig (辛亥 xīnhài): the zodiac year ran from January 27, 1971 to February 14, 1972. If you were born in that window, your Chinese zodiac sign is the Pig (猪 zhū).

One catch before anything else: the zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not January 1. Born in 1971 before January 27? Then you belong to the previous animal, the Metal Dog. The next section has the exact dates.

1971 Chinese zodiac at a glance

Animal: Pig (猪 zhū), the twelfth of the 12 zodiac animals
Element: Metal (金 jīn)
Traditional name: 辛亥 (xīnhài) in the 60-year cycle
Dates: January 27, 1971 to February 14, 1972
Lucky numbers: 2, 5, 8
Lucky colors: yellow, grey, brown, gold

Born in January or February 1971?

Chinese New Year fell on January 27 in 1971. So:

Born January 1 to January 26, 1971: you're a Metal Dog (dog year 1970), not a Pig.
Born January 27 or later in 1971: you're a Metal Pig.

This is the single most common mistake people make with the Chinese zodiac. When a January or February birthday is involved, always check the new year date before assuming the animal.

The Metal Pig personality

Pigs are the zodiac's good souls: generous, easygoing, and genuinely kind. They assume the best in people, share whatever they have, and enjoy life's comforts without guilt. Their trust gets tested; their warmth never runs out.

Metal is the element of structure and will. It adds discipline, high standards, and real persistence. In the 60-year cycle each animal pairs with one of five elements, so a Metal Pig (born 1971) reads a little different from Pigs of other years: the metal side colors how the pig's core traits show up.

Strengths:

Generous and sincere
Easygoing and warm
Diligent when it counts
Great company

Watch out for:

Too trusting
Indulgent with comfort
Avoids hard conversations

Pigs flourish in hospitality, medicine, charity work, and creative fields with heart.

1971 zodiac compatibility

Traditional Chinese astrology groups the 12 animals into "trines" of three signs that share a temperament, and pairs each sign with a "secret friend" and one clash.

Best matches for the Pig: the Rabbit and the Goat (trine partners), plus the Tiger, the Pig's secret friend.
Trickiest match: the Snake, the Pig's opposite on the zodiac wheel.

Treat this as folk wisdom rather than fate. Plenty of happy couples "clash" on paper, and Chinese families today read these charts with a wink more often than a frown.

How to say it in Chinese

猪 (zhū): pig
生肖 (shēngxiào): Chinese zodiac sign
我属猪 (wǒ shǔ zhū): "I'm a Pig." The verb 属 (shǔ) means "to belong to"
本命年 (běnmìngnián): your own zodiac year, when your animal comes back around

Born in 1971? Your next 本命年 is 2031, the next Pig year after 2026. Tradition says to wear red that year for luck.

Want to go beyond the zodiac? Create a free Chenjin account to hear words like 猪 and 生肖 pronounced by native-quality audio, save them as flashcards, and start reading real Chinese stories at your level.

Other Pig years

1983: Water Pig (February 13, 1983 to February 1, 1984)
1995: Wood Pig (January 31, 1995 to February 18, 1996)
2007: Fire Pig (February 18, 2007 to February 6, 2008)
2019: Earth Pig (February 5, 2019 to January 24, 2020)
2031: Metal Pig (January 23, 2031 to February 10, 2032)

Read the full Year of the Pig guide for the personality in depth, or look up a different birth year on the Chinese zodiac overview.

1971 Chinese zodiac FAQ

What animal is 1971 in the Chinese zodiac?

1971 is the Year of the Pig. Anyone born from January 27, 1971 to February 14, 1972 is a Pig; a birthday earlier in 1971 belongs to the Year of the Dog.

What element is 1971?

Metal. The full sign for 1971 is the Metal Pig (辛亥 xīnhài), a combination that repeats only once every 60 years.

How old is someone born in 1971?

Someone born in 1971 turns 55 in 2026, or is still 54 if their birthday hasn't come around yet this year. In traditional Chinese age counting (虚岁 xūsuì), you'd add one more, since babies are counted as one year old at birth.