Chinese zodiac by birth year · 1940 · Updated 3 Nov 2026 · Hong Life
The Chinese zodiac sign for 1940 is the Metal Dragon (庚辰). The Dragon year ran from Feb 8, 1940 to Jan 26, 1941, so a January or early-February 1940 birthday before Feb 8, 1940 counts as the Yin Earth Rabbit (1939) instead.
Personality, compatibility and luck readings below are cultural tradition, shared for entertainment.
The Chinese zodiac does not change on January 1. It follows the lunisolar calendar, so each animal year starts at Lunar New Year, the second new moon after the winter solstice, which always lands between January 21 and February 20. For 1940 that date was February 8, 1940.
| Chinese Lunar New Year (start of the Dragon year) | Feb 8, 1940 |
|---|---|
| Last day of the Dragon year | Jan 26, 1941 |
| Korean Seollal (설날) | Feb 8, 1940 (same day) |
| Vietnamese Tết | Feb 8, 1940 (same day) |
| Ipchun / Lichun 立春 (Saju & Bazi year change) | Feb 5, 1940, 08:07 Korea time (Feb 5 7:07 Beijing) |
| Japan (eto 干支 by calendar year) | Jan 1 – Dec 31, 1940 |
In 1940 Ipchun (Feb 5) came before Lunar New Year (Feb 8), so babies born from Feb 5 to Feb 7 have a 庚辰 (Metal Dragon) year pillar in Saju but are still Rabbits in the popular zodiac.
Every year in the 60-year cycle pairs one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches. 1940 is stem 庚 (Gyeong / Gēng, Yang Metal) on branch 辰 (Jin, the Dragon), number 17 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Metal Dragon” rather than just “Dragon”.
| Heavenly stem | 庚 Gyeong · Metal 金 |
|---|---|
| Earthly branch | 辰 Jin · Dragon |
| Yin or yang | Yang (Yang years end in an even digit) |
| Fixed element of the Dragon | Earth (土) |
| Nayin (納音) sound element | White Wax Metal 白蠟金 (Korean 백랍금) |
| Same pair repeats | 1880, 1940, 2000 |
Reading the element. Metal is the element of autumn and of cutting away what is unnecessary. Metal years are linked with willpower, self-discipline, loyalty and a strong sense of right and wrong. The traditional caution is rigidity: Metal can seem cool, blunt or unwilling to compromise. For a Metal year the keywords are determination, principle and clarity. The Dragon itself carries Earth as its fixed element, so this year blends metal energy with earth qualities.
The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 1940 and 1941 are White Wax Metal (白蠟金), pictured as metal still soft like wax, not yet fully hardened: potential that is shaped by education and good company.
The same 庚辰 pair is also a Saju day pillar; see the Gyeong-Jin day-pillar article for how the combination is read when it appears on the day of birth.
| Tradition | Name of 1940 | Year starts |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 庚辰 Gēng Chén · Metal Dragon year | Feb 8, 1940 |
| Korean 띠 (ddi) | 경진년 (Gyeong-Jin) · 흰 용띠 | Seollal Feb 8; Saju: Ipchun Feb 5 |
| Japanese 干支 (eto) | kanoe-tatsu · 庚辰 | Jan 1, 1940 |
| Vietnamese con giáp | Canh Thìn · Thìn (Rồng, dragon) | Tết Feb 8 |
Koreans often name the year with a colour taken from the stem element: Wood years are blue-green (청), Fire red (적), Earth yellow or golden (황), Metal white (백) and Water black (흑). That is why 1940 is called the year of the 흰 용띠 (white dragon). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 1940 counts as tatsu (辰, Dragon) regardless of the lunar date. Vietnam uses the same animal for this year.
Keywords: ambitious, charismatic, energetic, proud + determination, principle and clarity
Tradition sees the Dragon as larger than life: idealistic, energetic and lucky, with a pride that pushes it to great things and occasionally into great arguments.
The only mythical creature in the cycle, the dragon was the symbol of emperors, rain and good fortune. Dragon years are still popular for births in Chinese communities, a well-documented "dragon baby" effect in places such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Where the Metal element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Metal Dragon is disciplined, loyal, decisive. Compared with the Earth Dragon of 1928 and the Water Dragon of 1952, the 1940 version is read as the most determined and principled Dragon.
In love: Passionate and loyal, sometimes demanding; Dragons want an admiring partner who also has a life and goals of their own. At work: Drawn to leadership, entrepreneurship, politics, the arts, media, law and large-scale projects.
Zodiac personality descriptions are folklore. Real personality is shaped by upbringing, culture and choices, and people born in the same year differ enormously.
Classical compatibility looks at how the two birth-year branches relate on the zodiac wheel. Signs four places apart form a Three Harmony trine, specific pairs form a Six Harmony, and signs directly opposite each other clash. For a Dragon born in 1940, the nearest-age examples are:
| Sign | Rating | Nearby birth years | Why (tradition) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster | Best match | 1933, 1945 | A Six Harmony pair: tradition calls these "secret friends" who quietly complete each other. |
| Monkey | Great match | 1932, 1944 | Both belong to the Water trine (Monkey, Rat, Dragon), sharing goals and a similar pace. |
| Rat | Great match | 1936, 1948 | Both belong to the Water trine (Monkey, Rat, Dragon), sharing goals and a similar pace. |
| Dragon | Same sign | 1928, 1952 | Same sign with a self-punishment flag: you understand each other but may amplify the same weaknesses. |
| Rabbit | Challenging | 1939, 1951 | A Harm pair: small misunderstandings can pile up; regular honest talk helps. |
| Dog | Most challenging | 1934, 1946 | Directly opposite on the zodiac wheel: different rhythms and priorities, so compromise is essential. |
Korean folk matchmaking (gunghap, 궁합) also watches for wonjin (원진) pairs, said to breed resentment; for the Dragon that partner is the Pig. See the full 12×12 compatibility chart or the Year of the Dragon guide. A real compatibility reading in Saju compares all eight characters of both charts, not just the year animal.
| Lucky numbers (popular list) | 1, 6, 7 |
|---|---|
| Lucky colours (popular list) | gold, silver |
| Five-element colour of 1940 | white — from the Metal stem 庚 |
| Element that supports Metal | Earth (generates Metal) → colour yellow |
| Direction of the Dragon | East-southeast |
| Dragon hour | 07:00–09:00 |
Two different ideas get mixed together online. The “lucky numbers and colours” lists are a modern popular folklore that varies from one website to another. The five-element colours are older: they come from the correspondence of Wood–green, Fire–red, Earth–yellow, Metal–white and Water–black, which is also behind Korean names such as 흰 용띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.
2027 is Jeongmi (丁未), the Yin Fire Goat — called the “red sheep” year (붉은 양띠) in Korea. In the Chinese calendar it begins on Feb 6, 2027 and ends on Jan 25, 2028; Korea celebrates Seollal on Feb 7, 2027 because the new moon falls just after midnight Korea time. For Saju, the year pillar changes at Ipchun on Feb 4, 2027 at about 10:46 KST. Tradition reads 2027 as a neutral year for the Metal Dragon:
| Animal vs. Goat | No special relationship with the Goat · Neutral |
|---|---|
| Element vs. Fire stem | Fire controls Metal |
| Age during 2027 | 87 |
| Next Dragon year | 2036 |
Your sign has no classical harmony or clash with the Goat, so 2027 is read as a "neutral" year in which results depend on your own effort and on the rest of your chart rather than on the year sign.
Fire melts Metal, so the year’s energy "controls" your element. Tradition reads it as a year of pressure and responsibility that can bring promotion or new titles if you stay disciplined and pace yourself.
For a personalised version that uses your birth month, day and hour, see the 2027 Korean horoscope and the 2027 Year of the Goat guide.
| Age | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| International age after birthday | 86 | 87 |
| Before birthday | 85 | 86 |
| Traditional Korean count age (unofficial) | 87 | 88 |
The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (庚辰) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 1940 it falls in 2000 — already celebrated. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2010 and palsun (80th) in 2020.
The Dragon returns every 12 years, but the element changes each time, so the same Metal Dragon element comes back only every 60 years.
| Year | Sign | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1916 | Fire Dragon 丙辰 | Feb 3, 1916 – Jan 22, 1917 |
| 1928 | Earth Dragon 戊辰 | Jan 23, 1928 – Feb 9, 1929 |
| 1940 | Metal Dragon 庚辰 | Feb 8, 1940 – Jan 26, 1941 |
| 1952 | Water Dragon 壬辰 | Jan 27, 1952 – Feb 13, 1953 |
| 1964 | Wood Dragon 甲辰 | Feb 13, 1964 – Feb 1, 1965 |
| 1976 | Fire Dragon 丙辰 | Jan 31, 1976 – Feb 17, 1977 |
| 1988 | Earth Dragon 戊辰 | Feb 17, 1988 – Feb 5, 1989 |
| 2000 | Metal Dragon 庚辰 | Feb 5, 2000 – Jan 23, 2001 |
| 2012 | Water Dragon 壬辰 | Jan 23, 2012 – Feb 9, 2013 |
| 2024 | Wood Dragon 甲辰 | Feb 10, 2024 – Jan 28, 2025 |
1940 is the Year of the Yang Metal Dragon (庚辰, Gēng Chén). The year began at Lunar New Year on Feb 8, 1940 and ended on Jan 26, 1941, so people born in that window are Dragons. This is cultural tradition, shared for entertainment.
Only if you were born on or after Feb 8, 1940. Births from January 1 to Feb 7, 1940 belong to the Yin Earth Rabbit of 1939. Korean Saju uses a different boundary, Ipchun on Feb 5, 1940 (Korea time), for the year pillar.
Traditionally the Rooster is the best match (Six Harmony), followed by the Monkey and Rat (Three Harmony). The Dog is the opposite, clashing sign, and the Rabbit forms a Harm pair.
Someone born in 1940 turns 86 during 2026 and 87 during 2027 (international age; before the birthday they are a year younger). Korea’s traditional count age would add one year, but it has not been used officially since June 2023.
No special relationship with the Goat. Fire melts Metal, so the year’s energy "controls" your element. Tradition reads it as a year of pressure and responsibility that can bring promotion or new titles if you stay disciplined and pace yourself. Read it as cultural tradition for fun, not as a prediction.
In Korean, 1940 is 경진-nyeon (경진년, Gyeong-Jin), the year of the 용, so people born then are 흰 용띠 — literally a white dragon, from the Metal colour of the Metal stem.
The year animal is only one of the eight characters in a Korean Saju (Four Pillars) chart. Enter your birth date and time to see your month, day and hour pillars, five-element balance and 2027 forecast.
Open the free Korean Saju calculator →Everything on this page about personality, compatibility and luck is cultural tradition for entertainment.