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What are the Personality Traits Associated with the Chinese Zodiac Sign Monkey?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

People who are born in the Year of the Monkey tend to be extremely clever and flexible, and they are also known for being mischief-makers, much like the animals that they are associated with. The monkey is a yang zodiac sign, with strong masculine influences, and the fixed element of the monkey is metal. Metal makes monkeys strong, determined, self reliant, sophisticated, and tenacious, and it also gives them naturally reserved, caring, and respectful personalities. Monkeys tend to succeed at anything they put their hands or minds to.

The Chinese zodiac is an extremely complicated cycle, rather than a simple and straightforward list of creatures. In addition to the 12 zodiac animals, the Chinese zodiac also incorporates the five elements in both yin and yang aspects. As a result, it is important to know what year someone is born in when evaluating his or her personality in terms of the Chinese zodiac. Place and time of birth are also important.

People born in the Year of the Monkey tend to be clever and flexible.
People born in the Year of the Monkey tend to be clever and flexible.

Monkeys are entertainers, constantly on the go, and often leaving a wake of chaos behind them. They are also extremely charming and persuasive, and people often find themselves cleaning up monkey messes quite cheerfully, as monkeys are skilled at tricking people into thinking that their very presence is an honor. Monkeys are also very bold and confident, apparently undisturbed by the fact that they tend to introduce an unexpected and chaotic element into the lives of others.

People born under the monkey sign are often quite charming.
People born under the monkey sign are often quite charming.

The monkey person is also naturally extremely clever. Monkeys have very quick minds, and they are skilled at solving problems, evaluating situations, and filing information away for later. They are also very trustworthy people, but they also have a strong sense of honor. Crossing a monkey is not a good idea, and monkeys should try to remember to act slowly when they sense that they are wrong, rather than behaving rashly. However, this trait also means that monkeys will hold people accountable for their actions, making them valuable if sometimes trying friends.

People with the monkey sign love to cause mischief.
People with the monkey sign love to cause mischief.

Because the monkey personality is so versatile, monkeys can succeed in almost any career. They are extremely intelligent, allowing them to pick up a range of skills, and their charming personalities serve them well in the workplace. However, their love of mischief and chaos can be disrupting for those around them, especially in a small workplace.

Rats, dragons, and roosters all tend to like monkeys and get along very well with them. Horses, snakes, sheep, and other monkeys are also relatively good partners and friends with monkeys, while rabbits, tigers, oxes, pigs, and dogs do not pair well with monkey people.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

BrickBack

@Comfyshoes - I know what you are saying, but there is a 50% chance of whatever they predicted would come true. So I don’t know if it was a fluke and you got lucky or if there was a degree of accuracy in this measure.

I know that this is an ancient tool that has been used for thousands of years so who knows. I bet it was fun to research the information, but I think that I would take the information with a grain of salt.

comfyshoes

I have to say that although I was not born in the year of the monkey, I do believe that there may be some truth to some of this mythology. I wanted to add that when I was pregnant, I was introduced to the Chinese Lunar calendar that was supposed to tell you with 100% accuracy what the sex of your child were based on the month that it was conceived.

With both of my pregnancies, the calendar accurately predicted that I was going to have a girl and then later a boy. Again, this is not scientific, but it my case it was very accurate which made me have more respect for predictions like this.

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    • People born in the Year of the Monkey tend to be clever and flexible.
      By: sugar0607
      People born in the Year of the Monkey tend to be clever and flexible.
    • People born under the monkey sign are often quite charming.
      By: gstockstudio
      People born under the monkey sign are often quite charming.
    • People with the monkey sign love to cause mischief.
      By: blantiag
      People with the monkey sign love to cause mischief.