A TRADITION, NOT A TEST
Chinese Gender Predictor
The traditional chart reads boy or girl from the mother's lunar age and the lunar month of conception. Enter Western dates; we do the lunar conversion.
How the Chinese Gender Chart Works
The chart is a grid: the mother's lunar age at conception down the side (18 to 45) and the lunar month of conception across the top (1 to 12). Each cell reads boy or girl. Most charts online go wrong at the conversion step, because both numbers follow the Chinese lunisolar calendar rather than Western dates.
- Lunar age counts a baby as one at birth, and everyone turns a year older at lunar new year, not on their birthday. Lunar year of conception minus lunar year of birth, plus one.
- Lunar month starts at each new moon. Lunar new year falls between January 21 and February 20, so a January conception usually belongs to the 11th or 12th month of the previous lunar year.
- Leap months appear every two or three years (2025 had a second 6th month). The chart is read with the month number it repeats.
If you know your due date rather than the conception date, we count back 266 days, the average length of a pregnancy from conception. From the first day of your last period we add 14 days. Both are estimates; an early scan dates the pregnancy more precisely.
The Chinese Gender Chart
Rows are lunar age, columns are the lunar month of conception. B is boy, G is girl. Several versions of the chart circulate; this is the widely reproduced one, checked against independent copies.
| Lunar age | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | G | B | G | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B | B |
| 19 | B | G | B | G | G | B | B | B | B | B | G | G |
| 20 | G | B | G | B | B | B | B | B | B | G | B | B |
| 21 | B | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G |
| 22 | G | B | B | G | B | G | G | B | G | G | G | G |
| 23 | B | B | G | B | B | G | B | G | B | B | B | G |
| 24 | B | G | B | B | G | B | B | G | G | G | G | G |
| 25 | G | B | B | G | G | B | G | B | B | B | B | B |
| 26 | B | G | B | G | G | B | G | B | G | G | G | G |
| 27 | G | B | G | B | G | G | B | B | B | B | G | B |
| 28 | B | G | B | G | G | G | B | B | B | B | G | G |
| 29 | G | B | G | G | B | B | B | B | B | G | G | G |
| 30 | B | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | B | B |
| 31 | B | G | B | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | B |
| 32 | B | G | B | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | B |
| 33 | G | B | G | B | G | G | G | B | G | G | G | B |
| 34 | B | G | B | G | G | G | G | G | G | G | B | B |
| 35 | B | B | G | B | G | G | G | B | G | G | B | B |
| 36 | G | B | B | G | B | G | G | G | B | B | B | B |
| 37 | B | G | B | B | G | B | G | B | G | B | G | B |
| 38 | G | B | G | B | B | G | B | G | B | G | B | G |
| 39 | B | G | B | B | B | G | G | B | G | B | G | G |
| 40 | G | B | G | B | G | B | B | G | B | G | B | G |
| 41 | B | G | B | G | B | G | B | B | G | B | G | B |
| 42 | G | B | G | B | G | B | G | B | B | G | B | G |
| 43 | B | G | B | G | B | G | B | G | B | B | B | B |
| 44 | B | B | G | B | B | B | G | B | G | B | G | G |
| 45 | G | B | B | G | G | G | B | G | B | G | B | B |
Chinese Gender Calendar 2026
Lunar new year 2026 falls on Feb 17, 2026, so dates before it belong to the last months of the previous lunar year. Find the lunar month your conception date falls in, then read it against your lunar age in the chart above. Your lunar age for a conception on or after Feb 17, 2026 is 2026 minus your lunar birth year, plus one.
| Lunar month | Lunar year | Western dates |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2025 | Jan 19, 2026 to Feb 16, 2026 |
| 1 | 2026 | Feb 17, 2026 to Mar 18, 2026 |
| 2 | 2026 | Mar 19, 2026 to Apr 16, 2026 |
| 3 | 2026 | Apr 17, 2026 to May 16, 2026 |
| 4 | 2026 | May 17, 2026 to Jun 14, 2026 |
| 5 | 2026 | Jun 15, 2026 to Jul 13, 2026 |
| 6 | 2026 | Jul 14, 2026 to Aug 12, 2026 |
| 7 | 2026 | Aug 13, 2026 to Sep 10, 2026 |
| 8 | 2026 | Sep 11, 2026 to Oct 9, 2026 |
| 9 | 2026 | Oct 10, 2026 to Nov 8, 2026 |
| 10 | 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 to Dec 8, 2026 |
| 11 | 2026 | Dec 9, 2026 to Jan 7, 2027 |
Chinese Gender Calendar 2027
Lunar new year 2027 falls on Feb 6, 2027, so dates before it belong to the last months of the previous lunar year. Find the lunar month your conception date falls in, then read it against your lunar age in the chart above. Your lunar age for a conception on or after Feb 6, 2027 is 2027 minus your lunar birth year, plus one.
| Lunar month | Lunar year | Western dates |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 2026 | Jan 8, 2027 to Feb 5, 2027 |
| 1 | 2027 | Feb 6, 2027 to Mar 7, 2027 |
| 2 | 2027 | Mar 8, 2027 to Apr 6, 2027 |
| 3 | 2027 | Apr 7, 2027 to May 5, 2027 |
| 4 | 2027 | May 6, 2027 to Jun 4, 2027 |
| 5 | 2027 | Jun 5, 2027 to Jul 3, 2027 |
| 6 | 2027 | Jul 4, 2027 to Aug 1, 2027 |
| 7 | 2027 | Aug 2, 2027 to Aug 31, 2027 |
| 8 | 2027 | Sep 1, 2027 to Sep 29, 2027 |
| 9 | 2027 | Sep 30, 2027 to Oct 28, 2027 |
| 10 | 2027 | Oct 29, 2027 to Nov 27, 2027 |
| 11 | 2027 | Nov 28, 2027 to Dec 27, 2027 |
| 12 | 2027 | Dec 28, 2027 to Jan 25, 2028 |
Lunar Age Calculator
Your lunar age (the traditional Chinese count, sometimes called nominal age) is one at birth plus one for every lunar new year you have lived through. Someone born in July 1996 is 31 by that count from February 17, 2026, while still 29 by the Western count. The predictor above shows both so you can see which row of the chart applies. A birthday in January or early February is the usual trap: born before that year's lunar new year, you belong to the previous lunar year.
How Accurate Is It?
About as accurate as a coin flip. The one large test, published in 2010 by Villamor and colleagues, ran the chart against 2,840,755 single births recorded in Sweden between 1973 and 2006, using each mother's lunar age and lunar month of conception estimated from her last period. The chart matched the recorded sex about half the time. Pages claiming 90 percent accuracy are repeating a sales line, not a study.
For the real answer: a non-invasive prenatal blood test (NIPT) from about ten weeks, or the anatomy ultrasound between 18 and 22 weeks. Everything on this page is for the small thrill of asking.
Where the Chart Comes From
In Chinese it is often called the Qing palace table, and the popular story has it kept by the imperial family or dug out of a royal tomb. Historians of Chinese medicine have found no record of it, and it does not follow the yin-yang or five-element logic of the older birth charts, so it is most likely a modern creation that spread through magazines and the internet. That does not make it less of a tradition: in many Chinese families the grandparents' prediction is part of the pregnancy.
Your baby's own place in the tradition is easier to pin down. The result above names the animal year of the estimated birth date; the Chinese zodiac calculator gives the full profile, and Chinese zodiac compatibility reads how the baby's animal sits with each parent's.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Chinese gender predictor work?
It is a table with the mother's lunar age at conception down the side and the lunar month of conception across the top. Each cell says boy or girl. You need two conversions first: your age the Chinese way (one at birth, one more at every lunar new year) and the lunar month the conception date falls in. This page does both conversions for you.
Is the Chinese gender chart accurate?
No better than a coin flip. The largest check, by Villamor and colleagues in 2010, tested the chart against 2.8 million births recorded in Sweden between 1973 and 2006 and found it right about half the time. A prenatal blood test from about ten weeks or the second-trimester ultrasound gives the real answer.
What is lunar age?
Traditional Chinese age counting: a baby is one at birth and everyone turns a year older at lunar new year rather than on their birthday. So your lunar age is usually one or two years above your Western age. The formula: lunar year of conception minus lunar year of birth, plus one, where a date before lunar new year still belongs to the previous lunar year.
What is the lunar month of conception?
Lunar months start at each new moon and run 29 or 30 days, so they do not line up with Western months. Early February can be the 12th lunar month of the previous year; late February can be the 1st. Some years add a leap month, which the chart reads as the month it repeats. Use the 2026 and 2027 calendars on this page, or enter a date and we convert it.
Can I use the chart before conceiving to choose a boy or a girl?
The tradition says yes, which is why the result shows your chart month by month for the next few years. There is no evidence it changes the odds: the 2010 study found the chart no better than chance, so treat the planner as a tradition to enjoy, not a method.
Does the chart work for twins?
The chart gives one answer per conception, so it cannot say anything about twins of different sexes. Parents of twins usually read it for fun and compare it with the scan.
Where does the Chinese gender calendar come from?
The popular story says it was kept in the Qing imperial court or found in a royal tomb. Historians of Chinese medicine have found no record of it, and it does not follow the logic of older Chinese birth charts, so it is most likely a modern creation spread by magazines and websites. It is still a widely enjoyed tradition in Chinese families.
Pregnancy Tarot Reading
A free reading for the feelings of waiting.
Fertility Tarot Reading
Emotional support while trying to conceive.
Chinese Zodiac Calculator
The animal and element of any birth date, including the due date.
Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
How the baby's animal sits with each parent's.
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