Age Counting

The answer to how old are you depends on your culture and even social context within said culture. Isn't that weird?

East Asia

  1. When you're born, you're 1 year old. On the new year, everyone's age increases by 1 (may be the Lunar New Year or January 1st)
    1. Known as 虚岁（xu sui）in China 数え年（かぞえどし）in Japan

  2. When you're born, you're 0 years old and on your birthday, your age increases by 1.

    1. Known as 周岁（zhou sui）in China, 満年齢（まんねんれい）in Japan

  3. In Japan, the old system was supplanted by the international counting method with the Nenrei Keisan ni Kansuru Houritsu (Age Calculation Law), passed in the Meiji Era, when Japan was becoming less like Japan and more like the West (TM).

  4. Xu Sui is still used socially in China among the older generations. Otherwise everything is based on the western counting system.

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