Lunar Age Calculator

Enter a birthdate to get your Chinese lunar age (nominal age / xu sui), Western age, zodiac, and lunar birth year. Answer the "how old are you?" question the right way.

Learn how Chinese age works ↓

Enter a birthdate to see your lunar age, zodiac, and a 10-year forecast.

What is lunar age (Chinese nominal age / xu sui)?

Lunar age, also called Chinese nominal age or xu sui, counts you as one year old on the day you are born and adds a year every Chinese New Year. That makes lunar age one to two years higher than Western age, most visibly right after the Lunar New Year.

The system predates personal birthdays as a milestone: birth year mattered more than the exact day, and the whole community aged one year at once on New Year. It is still standard in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and other East Asian regions for greetings, matchmaking, temple rites, and Chinese astrology. Major cycles in BaZi and Ziwei Doushu readings are counted by nominal age.

How is nominal age calculated?

Formula: nominal age = current year − lunar birth year + 1. The trick is the lunar birth year. If you are born before Chinese New Year, your lunar year is one less than the Western year. A January 15, 1990 birthday belongs to lunar year 1989, because the 1990 Lunar New Year fell on January 27.

This calculator resolves the lunar year automatically, including pre-New-Year births.

Nominal age vs. Western age

Western age ticks up on your birthday. Nominal age ticks up on Lunar New Year, and you start at one on the day you are born. As a result, nominal age runs two years higher than Western age if your birthday falls before Chinese New Year, and one year higher if after.

Western paperwork, passports, and legal documents use Western age. Traditional contexts (Chinese New Year greetings, matchmaking, feng shui, astrology readings) use nominal age. Chinese-speaking communities carry both numbers in parallel.

Chinese New Year edge cases

Chinese New Year lands somewhere between January 21 and February 20, varying each year. A birthday in late January or early February needs the actual Lunar New Year date to confirm the lunar birth year. Premature babies count by actual birth date, not due date: a baby due in mid-February but born in late January belongs to the previous lunar year, with a different zodiac sign.

This calculator handles the Lunar New Year boundary automatically, including leap months and the differing order of Lichun (start of spring) and the Spring Festival.

Worked example

A person born on March 15, 1990 is past the 1990 Lunar New Year (January 27), so the lunar birth year is 1990, which is a Year of the Horse (庚午). In 2026 their nominal age is 2026 − 1990 + 1 = 37; their Western age is 2026 − 1990 = 36.

If the same person were born on January 15, 1990, the lunar birth year shifts to 1989, a Year of the Snake (己巳), and their nominal age in 2026 becomes 38.

Lunar Age Chart 2026: Find Your Lunar Age by Birth Year

Chinese New Year 2026 has passed: right now, lunar age = Western age + 1 if your birthday this year has passed, or + 2 if not yet. The chart below lists this year's lunar age, Western age, and zodiac for each birth year.

Birth yearLunar ageWestern ageZodiac
202610Horse
202521Snake
202432Dragon
202343Rabbit
202254Tiger
202165Ox
202076Rat
201987Pig
201898Dog
2017109Rooster
20161110Monkey
20151211Goat
20141312Horse
20131413Snake
20121514Dragon
20111615Rabbit
20101716Tiger
20091817Ox
20081918Rat
20072019Pig
20062120Dog
20052221Rooster
20042322Monkey
20032423Goat
20022524Horse
20012625Snake
20002726Dragon
19992827Rabbit
19982928Tiger
19973029Ox
19963130Rat
19953231Pig
19943332Dog
19933433Rooster
19923534Monkey
19913635Goat
19903736Horse
19893837Snake
19883938Dragon
19874039Rabbit
19864140Tiger
19854241Ox
19844342Rat
19834443Pig
19824544Dog
19814645Rooster
19804746Monkey
19794847Goat
19784948Horse
19775049Snake
19765150Dragon
19755251Rabbit
19745352Tiger
19735453Ox
19725554Rat
19715655Pig
19705756Dog
19695857Rooster
19685958Monkey
19676059Goat
19666160Horse
19656261Snake
19646362Dragon
19636463Rabbit
19626564Tiger
19616665Ox
19606766Rat
19596867Pig
19586968Dog
19577069Rooster
19567170Monkey
19557271Goat
19547372Horse
19537473Snake
19527574Dragon
19517675Rabbit
19507776Tiger
19497877Ox
19487978Rat
19478079Pig
19468180Dog
19458281Rooster
19448382Monkey
19438483Goat
19428584Horse
19418685Snake
19408786Dragon
19398887Rabbit
19388988Tiger
19379089Ox
19369190Rat
19359291Pig
19349392Dog
19339493Rooster
19329594Monkey
19319695Goat
19309796Horse
19299897Snake
19289998Dragon
192710099Rabbit
1926101100Tiger

Born in Jan–Feb before that year's Chinese New Year? Use the row for one year earlier (the zodiac also follows the lunar year).
The Western age column assumes your birthday this year has already passed; subtract 1 if not.

FAQ

Is nominal age the same as Korean age?

Close but not identical. Korean age adds a year on January 1 (Western New Year), while Chinese nominal age adds a year on Lunar New Year. For most of the year the numbers match, but they can differ by one around January.

Why use the lunar year instead of the Western year?

Nominal age is anchored to Lunar New Year. Someone born before Lunar New Year has a Western birth year one ahead of their lunar birth year. For example, someone born February 5, 1997 has a Western year of 1997, but that year's Lunar New Year fell on February 7, so their lunar year is 1996 (丙子, Year of the Rat). Using the Western year directly would give the wrong zodiac and age. The lunar birth year avoids these boundary errors.

What if I was born on Lunar New Year itself?

Births on Lunar New Year's Day belong to the new lunar year. The calculator uses the lunar calendar under the hood, so you do not have to look up the exact New Year date yourself.

Which zodiac animal applies: lunar year or Li Chun?

Everyday Chinese-speaking custom marks the zodiac by Lunar New Year. Chinese astrology (BaZi) traditionally marks it by Li Chun (around February 4). This tool uses the lunar year boundary, aligned with nominal age. For the Li Chun zodiac used in BaZi readings, use the BaZi calculator.

Why do older relatives expect nominal age?

Greetings with older family, matchmaking conversations, ancestor rites, and temple visits default to nominal age in Chinese-speaking communities. Giving your Western age is not wrong but may sound "a year younger" than expected. Pair this tool with the BaZi calculator or Ziwei Doushu calculator for a full reading.

Does nominal age matter for Chinese astrology readings?

Yes. BaZi major cycles (大運), Ziwei annual forecasts, and auspicious-date calculations are counted by nominal age. Knowing your nominal age lets you map directly onto the cycle start ages and yearly markers in a reading.

What is my lunar age if I'm 26?

Usually 27 or 28. Your lunar age is your Western age plus 1, and plus 2 during the window between Lunar New Year and your Western birthday, or for the whole year if you were born before Lunar New Year. The same rule applies at any age. Enter your birthdate above for the exact number.

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