DOBcalc

Chinese Age Calculator (虚岁)

Calculate your Chinese nominal age — 虚岁 — where you are 1 at birth and gain a year at every Lunar New Year.

Results update instantly — no button needed · Calculated in your local timezone

Select your date of birth to see results instantly

What is 虚岁 (nominal age)?

Chinese nominal age (虚岁, xūsuì) counts the calendar years you have touched rather than the years you have completed. You are 1 at birth — the year you are living in counts as your first — and you gain a year at every Lunar New Year, not at your birthday.

The practical consequence: your 虚岁 is your international age plus one or two, depending on whether your birthday has passed and where the Lunar New Year falls. The result card shows both ages side by side so you can see the gap.

When does 虚岁 increase?

At the Lunar New Year — the first day of the lunar calendar, which falls between 21 January and 20 February. Everyone in the country ages together on that day: a baby born two days before the New Year is already 2 (虚岁) two days after birth.

This calculator uses the actual published Lunar New Year dates, so the result is exact for birth years from 1950 onward. (For earlier birth years it approximates the boundary as 4 February.)

虚岁 vs 周岁 (full age)

周岁 (zhōusuì) is the international convention — complete years since birth, incremented on your birthday. It is the age used on Chinese ID cards since 2007 and by law in most contexts. 虚岁 remains the traditional count for zodiac years, generational seniority and formal politeness.

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Frequently asked questions

＋How do I calculate my Chinese age?

Select your date of birth above. Your 虚岁 = 1 + the number of Lunar New Years that have passed since your birth date — the calculator does this using real published lunar calendar dates.

＋Why is my Chinese age 1–2 years older than my international age?

Because you start at 1 instead of 0, and the increment happens at Lunar New Year rather than your birthday. If you were born just before a Lunar New Year, both effects stack and your 虚岁 is your international age + 2.

＋Which age should I use officially in China?

周岁 — the international, birthday-based age — is the legal standard on ID cards and documents. 虚岁 is used socially, traditionally and for zodiac reckoning.

＋Does the lunar calendar affect my zodiac year too?

Yes — your Chinese zodiac animal follows the same Lunar-New-Year boundary as 虚岁. Someone born in late January can belong to the previous year's animal, which is why lunar-calendar precision matters for both.