community

There was some discussion in the office earlier this week about age reckoning the Chinese way, seeing as the Chinese New Year has just passed.  I thought I’d put it down in writing for those time that people will ask me again and again until I’m tired.  hehehe…

Here’s how the Chinese compute your age.  They do it the moment you’re conceived.  So by the time you’re born, you’re already a year old.  And once a Chinese New Year passes, they add another number to your age.  Yes, that’s right, they don’t add the number on your birthday but at the new year.  Not that they don’t celebrate birthdays, of course.  They do.  You’d just find it confusing.

So it became a rule of thumb for most people to add 1 to your real age when they’re referring to your Chinese age.  It’s a rule of thumb with an exception.  If one was born at the tail end of the Chinese year, then you’d have to add 2 to the number.  Confused yet?  Review the rules I laid out above and let me illustrate.

A baby’s born on February 10, 2010.  That makes him 1 year old by Chinese reckoning, correct?  But the new year event happens on the 14th.  So you add another 1.  That makes the infant now 2 years old.  As opposed to a baby born in September 2009, you only add 1 to the age number.  Every year.

I hope this clarifies the age question between the Chinese and the rest of the world.  If not, well, the comments section is still open so pose your questions and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.