A fast, private lunar calendar converter
This lunar calendar converter provides a simple, instant way to translate dates between the standard Gregorian calendar and the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. Whether you are looking up a traditional birthday, planning for an upcoming cultural festival, or simply curious about historical dates, you can get accurate conversions without navigating complex charts.
Because the tool runs entirely in your web browser, your inputs are never uploaded to a server or stored externally. The calculations happen locally on your device, ensuring a fast, private, and seamless experience.
Two-way date conversion
The tool supports converting dates in both directions, covering the years from 1901 to 2099:
Solar to lunar date: Enter a standard Gregorian date (the calendar used globally for business and everyday life) to find its exact lunar equivalent. The results will display the lunar month and day, along with traditional astrological markers.
Lunar to solar date: If you only know a date according to the lunar calendar, you can input the lunar year, month, and day to find out exactly when it falls (or fell) on the Gregorian calendar. The tool automatically accounts for the varying lengths of lunar months and the presence of leap months.
Alongside the converted date, the tool provides two important pieces of traditional information:
- Zodiac Animal: The animal sign associated with the lunar year.
- Ganzhi (Stem-Branch): The traditional 60-year cycle designation for the year, combining one of ten Heavenly Stems with one of twelve Earthly Branches.
Why use a lunar calendar converter?
Finding your true Chinese zodiac year Many people mistakenly believe their Chinese zodiac sign is based purely on their Gregorian birth year. However, the zodiac cycle resets on the Lunar New Year, which shifts every year between late January and mid-February. If you were born in January or early February, your zodiac sign likely belongs to the previous Gregorian year. Converting your exact birth date ensures you identify your correct animal sign. If you are interested in Western astrology, you can also check our Zodiac Sign Calculator.
Tracking traditional birthdays and anniversaries In many East Asian cultures, older generations still celebrate their birthdays according to the lunar calendar. Because the lunar calendar shifts relative to the solar calendar, a lunar birthday falls on a different Gregorian date every year. This tool makes it easy to pinpoint exactly when a family member's lunar birthday will occur this year.
Determining the Lunar New Year date and festivals Traditional holidays like the Lunar New Year (Spring Festival), the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival are based strictly on the lunar calendar. By converting these lunar dates to solar dates, you can easily plan events, travel, and celebrations well in advance.
Understanding the Chinese lunar calendar
The Chinese lunar calendar is technically a "lunisolar" calendar. This means it incorporates elements of both lunar cycles (the phases of the moon) and solar cycles (the position of the earth around the sun).
A standard lunar month begins on the day of the new moon and lasts either 29 or 30 days. A standard lunar year consisting of 12 months is roughly 354 days long—about 11 days shorter than a solar year. If left unadjusted, the lunar calendar would quickly drift out of sync with the seasons, pushing spring festivals into the middle of winter.
To prevent this seasonal drift, the calendar periodically inserts an intercalary month, commonly known as a "leap month." This happens roughly seven times every 19 years. During a leap year, the calendar has 13 months instead of 12. When using the lunar to solar date converter, you will notice that certain years include an option for a leap month (indicated by an "L", such as "Leap Month 4"). The tool automatically calculates which years require a leap month and adjusts the available options accordingly.
Related time and date tools
If you are working with different calendar systems or need to calculate time spans, you may find these other local, browser-based tools helpful:
- Hijri Converter: Convert dates between the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic Hijri calendar.
- Date Difference Calculator: Find the exact number of years, months, and days between any two dates.