Chinese lunar calendar · year archive
Current year & next Chinese New Year →Chinese calendar 2023: year of the Water Rabbit
2023 is the year of the Water Rabbit in the Chinese calendar, from 22 January 2023 to 9 February 2024: 384 days, 13 lunar months, including leap month 2. Born before 22 January 2023? That is still the Water Tiger year.
Choose “Save as PDF” in your browser’s print destination to keep this calendar.
384 days · Year of the Water Rabbit
Sexagenary year
Water generates Wood: the year stem is Water, while theRabbit's fixed phase is Wood.
Length
384 days
Across 13 lunar months.
Leap month
Month 2
29 days in the repeated month.
Beginning of Spring
Twice
立春 falls twice — a double-spring year, 双春年.
Year name explained
Why Water Rabbit
Water generates Wood in the Five Phases, so the year element supports the Rabbit’s fixed element.
The animal repeats every 12 years, while the stem-and-branch pairing repeats every 60. The element in “Water Rabbit” comes from the year's heavenly stem; it is distinct from the animal's conventional fixed phase. Read the calendar glossary.
The 13 lunar months of 2023
A lunar month begins on the day of the new moon, so its Gregorian start date moves every year. These are the exact correspondences for 2023.
| Lunar month | Begins | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 22 January 2023 | 29 |
| Month 2 | 20 February 2023 | 30 |
| Leap month 2 | 22 March 2023 | 29 |
| Month 3 | 20 April 2023 | 29 |
| Month 4 | 19 May 2023 | 30 |
| Month 5 | 18 June 2023 | 30 |
| Month 6 | 18 July 2023 | 29 |
| Month 7 | 16 August 2023 | 30 |
| Month 8 | 15 September 2023 | 30 |
| Month 9 | 15 October 2023 | 29 |
| Month 10 | 13 November 2023 | 30 |
| Month 11 | 13 December 2023 | 29 |
| Month 12 | 11 January 2024 | 30 |
The solar year within it
25 solar terms
Solar terms track the sun rather than the moon, so they sit at almost the same Gregorian date every year while the lunar months move by weeks. A twelve-month year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year and so holds fewer of them than a thirteen-month one.
- Beginning of Spring立春4 February 2023 · 10:42:33 UTC+8
- Rain Water雨水19 February 2023 · 06:34:17 UTC+8
- Awakening of Insects惊蛰6 March 2023 · 04:36:14 UTC+8
- Spring Equinox春分21 March 2023 · 05:24:26 UTC+8
- Pure Brightness清明5 April 2023 · 09:13:04 UTC+8
- Grain Rain谷雨20 April 2023 · 16:13:37 UTC+8
- Beginning of Summer立夏6 May 2023 · 02:18:46 UTC+8
- Grain Buds小满21 May 2023 · 15:09:10 UTC+8
- Grain in Ear芒种6 June 2023 · 06:18:21 UTC+8
- Summer Solstice夏至21 June 2023 · 22:57:49 UTC+8
- Minor Heat小暑7 July 2023 · 16:30:41 UTC+8
- Major Heat大暑23 July 2023 · 09:50:27 UTC+8
- Beginning of Autumn立秋8 August 2023 · 02:22:53 UTC+8
- End of Heat处暑23 August 2023 · 17:01:18 UTC+8
- White Dew白露8 September 2023 · 05:26:43 UTC+8
- Autumn Equinox秋分23 September 2023 · 14:49:58 UTC+8
- Cold Dew寒露8 October 2023 · 21:15:34 UTC+8
- Frost's Descent霜降24 October 2023 · 00:20:50 UTC+8
- Beginning of Winter立冬8 November 2023 · 00:35:35 UTC+8
- Minor Snow小雪22 November 2023 · 22:02:41 UTC+8
- Major Snow大雪7 December 2023 · 17:32:55 UTC+8
- Winter Solstice冬至22 December 2023 · 11:27:20 UTC+8
- Minor Cold小寒6 January 2024 · 04:49:22 UTC+8
- Major Cold大寒20 January 2024 · 22:07:22 UTC+8
- Beginning of Spring立春4 February 2024 · 16:27:07 UTC+8
Moving Gregorian dates
Festivals in the 2023 lunar year
Most follow numbered lunar dates; Qingming and Winter Solstice follow exact solar-term instants. Open a festival to see its rule.
- 22 January 2023lunar 1/1
- 5 February 2023lunar 1/15
- 22 June 2023lunar 5/5
- 22 August 2023lunar 7/7
- 30 August 2023lunar 7/15
- 29 September 2023lunar 8/15
- 23 October 2023lunar 9/9
- 18 January 2024lunar 12/8
- 9 February 2024lunar 12/30
Gregorian index
Month by month in 2023
Each Gregorian month of 2023, with the lunar dates and day pillars it covers.