1.
traditional age counting; East Asian age reckoning
A traditional system of counting age in which a person is one year old at birth and gains a year every New Year's Day, rather than on their birthday.
数え年では今年三十歳だ。
In traditional age counting, I am thirty this year.
七五三は数え年で祝う家庭もある。
Some families celebrate Shichi-Go-San based on traditional age counting.
昔は数え年が一般的だったが、今は満年齢が使われている。
In the past, traditional age counting was common, but now the Western system is used.
Under this system, a baby is considered one year old (一歳) at birth, and everyone becomes one year older on January 1st (originally based on the lunar new year). This means a person born on December 31st would be considered two years old on the following day.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 数え年で: in traditional age counting
- 数え年の年齢: age by traditional reckoning
- 数え年で祝う: to celebrate by traditional age
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 満年齢: Western-style age — counting from birthday to birthday, which is the standard system in modern Japan
CULTURAL NOTE:
Japan officially switched to the Western age system (満年齢) in 1950, but 数え年 is still used for some traditional events like 厄年 (unlucky years) and 還暦 (60th birthday celebration).