While in the western world, asking someone about their age might be considered taboo (especially women) — if you travel to Korea, you’ll notice that the first thing someone will ask you is your age. It’s yet another fundamental cultural difference between the two worlds, the East and the West. Because of that, we’ve decided to take a trip through the way different Asian countries measure and acknowledge people’s age.
The East Asian age reckoning
The method originated from China and it’s quite different from the method that’s used in the West. In this method, people are born at the age of one, and on the day of the Chinese New Year, one year is added to their age. So people’s age changes at the beginning of the Lunar year, instead of on the anniversary of their birthday.
What I mean is that you might be a year or two older in the Asian system, compared to how old you are according to the common internationally adopted age system.
Korea and the question about age
As mentioned in the beginning, it’s normal for Koreans to ask you about your age. That stems from the fact that the Korean language has a few different levels of politeness, the reason people ask you to tell them your age is so they can address you properly.
What you’ll notice is that the number they state is different from your actual age. This is because of the East Asian way of determining age, which we’ve described above. It may sound complicated, but we’ve got a formula that you can use in order to calculate it.
The formula you should use is:
(Current year + 1) – the year you were born = Your Korean age
Back to China and how they do things
In Chinese, there are three words for age:
One for the traditional system – (traditional Chinese: 虛歲/齡; simplified Chinese: 虚岁/龄; pinyin: xūsuì/líng)
one that’s called the modern age, which starts from zero but skips the new year’s addition – (traditional Chinese: 周歲; simplified Chinese: 周岁; pinyin: zhōusùi)
one that’s called the solid age, which counts the years from birth – (traditional Chinese: 實歲; simplified Chinese: 实岁; pinyin: shísùi)
One thing you should know about Chinese birthdays is that in addition to a birthday cake, it’s common to have a bowl of noodles prepared in a special way with eggs, wheat flour and soda water. According to tradition, the noodles will bring you a long life, but if you bite off part of them you might cut your life short. So be careful to slurp the noodles without biting them.
Japan adopted the modern system
The traditional system for age called kazoedoshi (数え年, lit. “counted years”), which increased the age of a person on New Year’s Day, was changed into the modern one by a law introduced in 1902. The modern system is called man nenrei (満年齢) in Japanese, but the traditional system was used until 1950 when additional legal actions were adopted in order to transition people to the modern system faster.
Now that we’ve gone over the different perceptions of age in Asia and how they count their years, next time you’re in one of those countries, know that they are actually 1 or 2 years younger than their western age. Don’t be tricked by their Asian age system or their young-looking faces!
FAQs
The East Asian age reckoning
What is the Eastern age count? ›
Traditional East Asian age reckoning covers a group of related methods for reckoning human ages practiced in the East Asian cultural sphere, characterized by counting inclusively from 1 at birth and increasing at each New Year instead of each birthday.
How old is East Asia? ›
Recorded civilization dates to approximately 2000 BC in China's Shang dynasty along the Yellow River Valley. Civilization expanded to other areas in East Asia gradually. In Korea Gojoseon became the first organized state approximately around 195 BC.
What is the Asian way of counting age? ›
According to the Chinese nominal age system, a person is counted as one year old on the day of birth, and becomes one year older, each year, on the day the Chinese New Year is celebrated. This means that, in China, nominal age is usually exaggerated by one to two years as compared with actual age.
How old is 24 in Korean age? ›
3. How to Say Your Age in Korean (Updated in 2024)
| Birth Year | Age | Korean |
|---|
| 2003 | 22 years old | 스물두 살 |
| 2002 | 23 years old | 스물세 살 |
| 2001 | 24 years old | 스물네 살 |
| 2000 | 25 years old | 스물다섯 살 |
87 more rowsThe stages of adulthood examined here include: Early Adulthood (ages 22--34). Early Middle Age (ages 35--44), Late Middle Age (ages 45--64), and Late Adulthood (ages 65 and older).
Who were the first humans in East Asia? ›
The earliest traces of early humans, hom*o erectus, in East Asia have been found in China. Fossilized remains of Yuanmou Man were found in Yunnan province in southwest China and have been dated to 1.7 Ma. Stone tools from the Nihewan Basin of the Hebei province in northern China are 1.66 million years old.
When did humans first arrive in East Asia? ›
A recent report in BMC Biology indicates that modern humans first arrived in southern East Asia 60,000 years ago and settled the rest of East Asia from there. This early date and migration route has significant implications for our understanding of the origins of present-day human populations.
Did humans originate in Asia? ›
Researchers agree that our immediate ancestors, the upright walking apes, arose in Africa. But the discovery of a new primate that lived about 37 million years ago in the ancient swamplands of Myanmar bolsters the idea that the deep primate family tree that gave rise to humans is rooted in Asia.
How old is 32 in Japanese age? ›
<BR>So whatever the collective 10 years is has the 11-19 added on the end respectively (except 20)like this:-<BR>22 = ni juu ni sai<BR>32 = san juu ni sai<BR>42 = yon juu ni sai<BR>52 = go juu ni sai<BR>62 = roku juu ni sai<BR>So after 100 would 101 years be, hyaku issai<BR>132 = hyaku san juu ni sai<BR><BR>Please ...
Japan is older than both Korean states in terms of when the existing states were established (at least 1,600 years ago, even apart from the legendary period), but when it comes to the age of any state, Japan did not have a written language at that time, so we have to rely on Chinese records, and even the Chinese ...
What country are you born at 1? ›
Under this system, everyone in South Korea is considered to be one year old at the time of their birth, and their age increases by one on New Year's Day, regardless of their actual birth date.
How old am I in Korean years? ›
Calculating Korean age - example
Let's say someone was born in the year 1993, and the current year is 2019. In that case, the basic way of calculating their Korean age would look like this: Korean age = (2019 - 1993) + 1 = 27 . In the Western system, someone born in 1993 will be 26 years old in 2019.
What age are Koreans born at? ›
Under the “Korean age” system, babies are considered to be one year old on the day they are born, and every January 1, a year is added to people's ages – regardless of their actual birthdate. For example, a baby born on New Year's Eve becomes two years old the next day.
Which country counts age differently? ›
South Korea's traditional age-counting custom considers every person 1 year old at birth and adds another year when the calendar hits Jan. 1, meaning a child born on Dec. 31 turns 2 the next day.
What are the age groups classification? ›
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that the The stages of life are defined as baby (0-2 years), young adults (3-39 years), middle adults (40-59 years) and old (60-99 years) [92] . In this study, they were recategorized as baby (0-2 years), children (2-17 years), adults (18-60) and old (60 +).
How do they count age in Iran? ›
In many countries and cultures, a baby is “zero” at birth and is age “one year” a year after birth. In Iranian counting, a baby is “in the first year” at birth, “in the second year” a year later, and so on. That is the logic of the numbering, but in actual practice a person simply states their age as a number.
What are standard age groups? ›
What is your age group?
- 18 to 24.
- 25 to 34.
- 35 to 44.
- 45 to 54.
- 55 to 64.
- 65 or over.
As mentioned in the beginning, it’s normal for Koreans to ask you about your age. That stems from the fact that the Korean language has a few different levels of politeness, the reason people ask you to tell them your age is so they can address you properly.