acalculator

What is my lunar age?

Type your date of birth. The lunar age calculator gives your Chinese lunar age (nominal age, 虚岁), which starts at 1 and goes up at every Lunar New Year, with your Korean traditional age, your zodiac animal and the date your lunar age next goes up.

Your numbers

Count on another date
Lunar age
32

Born on June 15, 1995, your lunar age is 32 (31 in whole years).

Age in whole years
31
Korean traditional age
32
Zodiac animal
Pig
Next Lunar New Year
Saturday, February 6, 2027
Lunar New Year of this year
Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Answer for the example date Monday, October 5, 2026. It changes to today's date when the page loads.

Lunar age: 32. Born on June 15, 1995, your lunar age is 32 (31 in whole years).

How to calculate

Works out your Chinese lunar age (nominal age): 1 at birth and one more at every Lunar New Year, with the Korean traditional age, your zodiac animal and the next birthday of the count.

Example with the default inputs (Date of birth June 15, 1995, Age on October 5, 2026) on the example date Monday, October 5, 2026: Born on June 15, 1995, your lunar age is 32 (31 in whole years).

Method: Y(d) = the Gregorian year of d, less 1 if d is before that year’s Lunar New Year; lunar age = Y(age-on date) − Y(birth) + 1; Korean traditional age = year(on) − year(birth) + 1.

  • Lunar New Year is the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, in China time (UTC+8), as the Hong Kong Observatory publishes it.
  • Dates from 1930 to 2100.
  • Some families count the extra year from the start of spring (Lichun, about February 4) instead; this page uses Lunar New Year.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Date of birth 1995-06-15, Age on 2026-10-05 gives Lunar age 32, Age in whole years 31, Korean traditional age 32, Zodiac animal Pig, Next Lunar New Year 2027-02-06, Lunar New Year of this year 2026-02-17.Source: Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac (start dates of each year from 1924 to 2043; 2020 is a Rat year), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac (retrieved 2026-10-05); Wikipedia, East Asian age reckoning (a newborn is 1; Chinese nominal age adds a year at the Lunar New Year, the traditional Korean count on January 1), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_age_reckoning (retrieved 2026-10-05)
  2. Date of birth 2000-01-20, Age on 2026-01-10 gives Lunar age 27, Age in whole years 25, Korean traditional age 27, Zodiac animal Rabbit, Next Lunar New Year 2026-02-17, Lunar New Year of this year 2025-01-29.Source: Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac (start dates of each year from 1924 to 2043; 2020 is a Rat year), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac (retrieved 2026-10-05); Wikipedia, East Asian age reckoning (a newborn is 1; Chinese nominal age adds a year at the Lunar New Year, the traditional Korean count on January 1), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_age_reckoning (retrieved 2026-10-05)
  3. Date of birth 2026-02-16, Age on 2026-02-17 gives Lunar age 2, Age in whole years 0, Korean traditional age 1, Zodiac animal Snake.Source: Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac (start dates of each year from 1924 to 2043; 2020 is a Rat year), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac (retrieved 2026-10-05); Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Table (1st Lunar Month dates), https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/conversion1_text.htm (retrieved 2026-10-05); Wikipedia, East Asian age reckoning (a newborn is 1; Chinese nominal age adds a year at the Lunar New Year, the traditional Korean count on January 1), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_age_reckoning (retrieved 2026-10-05)
  4. Date of birth 1954-02-03, Age on 1954-02-03 gives Lunar age 1, Korean traditional age 1, Zodiac animal Horse, Next Lunar New Year 1955-01-24.Source: Wikipedia, Chinese zodiac (start dates of each year from 1924 to 2043; 2020 is a Rat year), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac (retrieved 2026-10-05) (1954 starts on February 3)

How it works

Dates are Gregorian calendar days from 1930 to 2100.

Lunar New Year of a year is the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, the date in China (UTC+8), as the Hong Kong Observatory publishes it (for example 2026-02-17, 2027-02-06, 1954-02-03). The page takes the month from the browser’s Chinese calendar and dates that new moon with Meeus’s new-moon formula, so the dates match the published tables (checked for 1924 to 2043).

Chinese year Y(d) of a date d: the Gregorian year of d, less 1 when d is before that year’s Lunar New Year.

  • Lunar age = Y(age-on date) − Y(birth) + 1.
  • Age in whole years: whole years from the date of birth to the age-on date (a February 29 birthday counts on February 28 in common years).
  • Korean traditional age = Gregorian year of the age-on date − year of birth + 1.
  • Zodiac animal: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig in turn, with Chinese year 2020 a Rat: animal number (Y(birth) − 4) mod 12, counting Rat as 0.
  • Next Lunar New Year: Lunar New Year of Gregorian year Y(age-on date) + 1. Lunar New Year of this year: Lunar New Year of Y(age-on date).
  • A date of birth after the age-on date gives no answer.

Worked examples by hand

Born June 15, 1995, on October 5, 2026. Lunar New Year 1995 was January 31, so Y(birth) = 1995; Lunar New Year 2026 was February 17, so Y(on) = 2026. Lunar age = 2026 − 1995 + 1 = 32. Age 31; Korean age 2026 − 1995 + 1 = 32. (1995 − 4) mod 12 = 11: Pig. Next Lunar New Year: February 6, 2027.

Born January 20, 2000, on January 10, 2026. January 20, 2000 is before Lunar New Year 2000 (February 5), so Y(birth) = 1999; January 10, 2026 is before February 17, 2026, so Y(on) = 2025. Lunar age = 2025 − 1999 + 1 = 27. Age 25; Korean age 27. (1999 − 4) mod 12 = 3: Rabbit.

Born February 16, 2026, on February 17, 2026. Y(birth) = 2025 and Y(on) = 2026: lunar age 2 one day after birth. Age 0; Korean age 1; Snake (2025).

Born February 3, 1954, the day of Lunar New Year. Y(birth) = Y(on) = 1954: lunar age 1. (1954 − 4) mod 12 = 6: Horse. Next Lunar New Year January 24, 1955.

Other questions people ask

What is lunar age?

Lunar age, or nominal age (虚岁), is the traditional Chinese way to count age. A baby is 1 at birth, and everyone adds a year at Lunar New Year, not on their birthday.

How do I calculate my lunar age?

Take the Chinese year now minus the Chinese year you were born in, plus 1. A date before that year’s Lunar New Year belongs to the previous Chinese year. Born June 15, 1995, on October 5, 2026: 2026 − 1995 + 1 = 32.

Why is my lunar age 1 or 2 more than my age?

You start at 1, which adds one year. Between Lunar New Year and your birthday you get the second extra year, because the lunar count has gone up and your birthday has not come yet.

How is Korean age different?

The traditional Korean count also starts at 1 but adds a year every January 1. Since June 2023 South Korea uses the international age in law.

Which zodiac animal am I?

The animal of the Chinese year you were born in. Born January 20, 2000, before Lunar New Year on February 5, you are a Rabbit of the 1999 year, not a Dragon.

When does my lunar age go up next?

At the next Lunar New Year. In 2027 it is February 6.