Convert any date between the Gregorian calendar and the Chinese lunar calendar (农历). See the lunar month and day in English and Chinese, whether it is a leap month, the year's stem-branch name and zodiac animal, and all the months of that lunar year.
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Convert
The year in which that Chinese New Year falls, e.g. 2026 for the Year of the Horse.
1 to 30 (初一 to 三十).
Enter your values to see the result.
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How to use the Chinese Lunar Calendar Converter
Choose the direction: Gregorian to lunar, or lunar to Gregorian.
Enter the date: a Gregorian date, or a lunar year, month and day.
Tick Leap month if the lunar date is in a leap month (闰月).
Read the result in English and Chinese, with the zodiac year.
Use the month table to see when every lunar month of that year starts.
How Gregorian and lunar dates are converted
The Chinese calendar is lunisolar. A lunar month starts on the day (in Beijing time, UTC+8) that contains the new moon, so it lasts 29 days (小月) or 30 days (大月). The 11th month always contains the winter solstice, and when a year from one 11th month to the next has 13 new moons, the first month without a major solar term becomes a leap month (闰月), named after the month before it.
The converter reads the lunar date from your browser's built-in Chinese calendar (the Intl API backed by ICU) and finds the start of each month by scanning for day 1. Each month start is then checked against a precise new-moon time (Jean Meeus' algorithm) converted to Beijing time, and moved by a day where the two disagree; ICU's simplified astronomy is off by a day for a few months, for example the first month of 2027 and 2030. For lunar → Gregorian, the Gregorian date is start of that lunar month + (day − 1).
Chinese New Year dates and zodiac animals
Lunar year
Chinese New Year
Year name
Zodiac
Leap month
2023
Jan 22, 2023
癸卯
Water Rabbit
Leap 2nd month
2024
Feb 10, 2024
甲辰
Wood Dragon
None
2025
Jan 29, 2025
乙巳
Wood Snake
Leap 6th month
2026
Feb 17, 2026
丙午
Fire Horse
None
2027
Feb 6, 2027
丁未
Fire Goat
None
2028
Jan 26, 2028
戊申
Earth Monkey
Leap 5th month
2029
Feb 13, 2029
己酉
Earth Rooster
None
2030
Feb 3, 2030
庚戌
Metal Dog
None
Lunar day names
Days 1–10 are written 初一 to 初十, days 11–19 十一 to 十九, day 20 二十, days 21–29 廿一 to 廿九 and day 30 三十. The 1st month is 正月, the 11th 冬月 and the 12th 腊月. Major festivals: Spring Festival (正月初一), Lantern Festival (正月十五), Dragon Boat Festival (五月初五), Qixi (七月初七), Mid-Autumn Festival (八月十五) and Double Ninth (九月初九).
Frequently asked questions
How does the Chinese lunar calendar work?
It is a lunisolar calendar. Each month begins on the day of the new moon (Beijing time), so months are 29 or 30 days long. Twelve months make about 354 days, so a leap month is added roughly 7 times every 19 years to keep the calendar in line with the seasons.
What is a leap month (闰月)?
A leap month is an extra month inserted in a lunar year, giving it 13 months. It repeats the number of the month before it, such as the leap sixth month (闰六月) in 2025. A lunar date in a leap month needs the Leap month box ticked when converting.
How do I find my lunar birthday?
Convert your Gregorian birth date to get the lunar month and day. Your lunar birthday in a later year is that same lunar month and day: use Lunar → Gregorian with the new year to find which Gregorian date it falls on.
Why is the lunar year shown with a Gregorian number?
The traditional Chinese calendar names years with a 60-year cycle of stems and branches (such as 丙午) rather than a running number, so lunar years are usually labelled with the Gregorian year in which that Chinese New Year falls.
When does the zodiac animal change?
In everyday use the zodiac animal changes at Chinese New Year, between January 21 and February 20. Some astrology systems use the solar term Lichun (around February 4) instead, which can give a different animal for people born in late January or early February.
How accurate is the converter?
It uses the Chinese calendar built into your browser (ICU data) for 1901–2099 and checks every month start against a precise new-moon calculation in Beijing time, fixing the handful of months where browser data is a day off, such as Chinese New Year 2027 (February 6). When a new moon falls within a minute or two of midnight, published almanacs themselves can differ.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.