Korean age is different than the age used in most countries. The whole concept of age is deeply embedded in Korean language and culture.
We’ll fill you in on what you need to know about age in Korea. We’ll also show you how to calculate your own Korean age. You can choose our easy formula, or our Korean age calculator.
Let’s get to it!
Contents
Korean Age Calculator
Enter your birth year below, and the Korean age calculator will show you your Korean age.
The Korean age calculator above will use the Korean age formula and automatically calculate your Korean age. If you want to understand Korean age better, or how Korean age is calculated, we’ll explain below.
What is Korean Age?
Korean age is a way that Koreans calculate their age. It is always one or two years more than your international age. Koreans consider a year in the womb as counting towards their age, so everyone is one year old at birth. Everyone gets one year added to their Korean age on New Year’s Day.
Here’s an easy way to think about it. Your Korean age will always be at least one year older than your international age. That’s because Korean age adds one year because of the time you spent in the womb before being born (approximately one year).
Your Korean age will change on New Year’s Day, not on your birthday. People in Korea still celebrate their birthday’s on the day that they were born. However, it doesn’t affect their Korean age. Their Korean age changes on January 1st.
For example, if you were born on April 1st, then you would still celebrate your birthday on April 1st. However, your Korean age wouldn’t change until January 1st. Korean age isn’t calculated based on your birthday.
If you’re curious about your Korean age, there is a Korean age calculator earlier and later in this post. We also recommend you try the formulas we provide before using the Korean age calculator. More on that in a bit.
Why is Korean Age Important?
Age in Korea is very important in Korean culture. Far more important than it is in Europe or the USA.
Often the first question that people ask is “How old are you?” People’s age is important not just for things like whether you are old enough to buy cigarettes and alcohol, but for a whole variety of social interactions in Korea.
People use different language when speaking to people of a different age. They expect people to act differently, with younger people expected to pour drinks, or older people expected to pay for things.
Even the way you refer to your friends is based on their age; if they are a year older than you, they might be your 누나 (nuna) or 언니 (eonni), if they are younger, they will be your 동생 (dongsaeng).
With all this importance put on age, answering the question “How old are you?” is very important. But the answer depends on the meaning of the question.
Why is Korean Age Different?
Korean age is different than international age (or Western age) because of two reasons. First, you are automatically one year old at birth. Second, you age another year because of the turn of the calendar year. Your date of birth doesn’t affect your Korean age.
To contrast, if you are a baby born in the USA, then on the day after you are born, you are considered to be one day old. The nine months that you spent inside your mommy’s tummy are not considered part of your age. Your age increases by one each time your date of birth passes.
In Korea, on the day of your birth, you are considered to be one year old; the time you spent in the womb counts as the first year of your life (despite it only being nine months). Because of this, your Korean age is always at least one year higher than your international age. Then the change of the year on January 1st automatically advances your Korean age by one. You can read more about Korean months here.
What’s my Korean age?
If you’re curious to know “what’s my Korean age”, there are three simple ways to get the answer. Pick whichever one you like the best. We recommend using the Korean age calculator last.
1. Use the “Korean Age +1 Formula”
(Current year – Year of Birth) + 1 = Korean Age
If you were born in 1995, and the year is 2019:
(2019 – 1995) + 1 = 25 years old (Korean age)
2. Use the “Korean Age Birthday Formula”
Birthday has passed this year: Your Age + 1 = Korean Age
Birthday has not passed this year: Your Age + 2 = Korean Age
If you are 25 and your birthday has passed:
25 + 1 = 26 years old (Korean age)
If you are 25 and your birthday has not passed this year:
25 + 2 = 27 years old (Korean age)
This means that your Korean age will be one or two years more than your international age.
3. Use the Korean Age Calculator
Using the Korean Age Calculator is super easy, just input your birth year. We recommend using the formulas above first, and then check your answer by using the Korean age calculator after.
If you want to get a solid understanding of Korean age, then you could try to calculate the Korean age of various people using the formulas, like celebrities or people you know. Then you can use the Korean age calculator to check if you’re correct.
Keep in mind that the Korean age calculator uses today’s date. If you want to calculate a Korean age on a different date, then use formulas 1 and 2.
Now that you know you how to calculate your Korean age, let’s look at some examples.
Korean Age Example
Let’s take a look at a Korean age example if your birthday is September 21st, 1997.
- International age:
- On January 1st, 2020, your international age is 22.
- On September 21st, 2020, your international age is 23.
- On January 1st, 2021, your international age is 23.
- Korean age:
- On January 1st, 2020, your Korean age is 24
- On September 21st, 2020, your Korean age is 24
- On January 1st, 2021, your Korean age is 25
How to Say Your Age in Korean
Knowing how to say your Korean age is really useful to know when learning how to speak Korean. It’s for sure to come up in conversation. You can say your Korean age by using this sentence. The Korean age calculator and formulas above will help you get the correct Korean age to use.
Example:
저는 스무 살입니다 (jeoneun seumu sarimnida).
This means “I am 20 years old“. You can substitute your age by using the chart below. If you don’t know how Korean numbers work, then check out this resource.
| Korean | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| han sal | 1 year old | |
| du sal | 2 years old | |
| se sal | 3 years old | |
| ne sal | 4 years old | |
| daseot sal | 5 years old | |
| yeoseot sal | 6 years old | |
| ilgop sal | 7 years old | |
| yeodeol sal | 8 years old | |
| ahop sal | 9 years old | |
| yeol sal | 10 years old | |
| yeolhan sal | 11 years old | |
| yeoldu sal | 12 years old | |
| yeolse sal | 13 years old | |
| yeolle sal | 14 years old | |
| yeoldaseot sal | 15 years old | |
| yeollyeoseot sal | 16 years old | |
| yeorilgop sal | 17 years old | |
| yeollyeodeol sal | 18 years old | |
| yeorahop sal | 19 years old | |
| seumu sal | 20 years old | |
| seumulhan sal | 21 years old | |
| seumuldu sal | 22 years old | |
| seumulse sal | 23 years old | |
| seumulle sal | 24 years old | |
| seumuldaseot sal | 25 years old | |
| seumullyeoseot sal | 26 years old | |
| seumurilgop sal | 27 years old | |
| seumullyeodeol sal | 28 years old | |
| seumurahop sal | 29 years old | |
| seoreun sal | 30 years old | |
| seoreunhan sal | 31 years old | |
| seoreundu sal | 32 years old | |
| seoreunse sal | 33 years old | |
| seoreunne sal | 34 years old | |
| seoreundaseot sal | 35 years old | |
| seoreunyeoseot sal | 36 years old | |
| seoreunilgop sal | 37 years old | |
| seoreunyeodeol sal | 38 years old | |
| seoreunahop sal | 39 years old | |
| maheun sal | 40 years old | |
| maheunhan sal | 41 years old | |
| maheundu sal | 42 years old | |
| maheunse sal | 43 years old | |
| maheunne sal | 44 years old | |
| maheundaseot sal | 45 years old | |
| maheunyeoseot sal | 46 years old | |
| maheunilgop sal | 47 years old | |
| maheunyeodeol sal | 48 years old | |
| maheunahop sal | 49 years old | |
| swin sal | 50 years old | |
| swinhan sal | 51 years old | |
| swindu sal | 52 years old | |
| swinse sal | 53 years old | |
| swinne sal | 54 years old | |
| swindaseot sal | 55 years old | |
| swinyeoseot sal | 56 years old | |
| swinilgop sal | 57 years old | |
| swinyeodeol sal | 58 years old | |
| swinahop sal | 59 years old | |
| yesun sal | 60 years old | |
| yesunhan sal | 61 years old | |
| yesundu sal | 62 years old | |
| yesunse sal | 63 years old | |
| yesunne sal | 64 years old | |
| yesundaseot sal | 65 years old | |
| yesunyeoseot sal | 66 years old | |
| yesunilgop sal | 67 years old | |
| yesunyeodeol sal | 68 years old | |
| yesunahop sal | 69 years old | |
| ilheun sal | 70 years old | |
| ilheunhan sal | 71 years old | |
| ilheundu sal | 72 years old | |
| ilheunse sal | 73 years old | |
| ilheunne sal | 74 years old | |
| ilheundaseot sal | 75 years old | |
| ilheunyeoseot sal | 76 years old | |
| ilheunilgop sal | 77 years old | |
| ilheunyeodeol sal | 78 years old | |
| ilheunahop sal | 79 years old | |
| yeodeun sal | 80 years old | |
| yeodeunhan sal | 81 years old | |
| yeodeundu sal | 82 years old | |
| yeodeunse sal | 83 years old | |
| yeodeunne sal | 84 years old | |
| yeodeundaseot sal | 85 years old | |
| yeodeunyeoseot sal | 86 years old | |
| yeodeunilgop sal | 87 years old | |
| yeodeunyeodeol sal | 88 years old | |
| yeodeunahop sal | 89 years old | |
| aheun sal | 90 years old | |
| aheunhan sal | 91 years old | |
| aheundu sal | 92 years old | |
| aheunse sal | 93 years old | |
| aheunne sal | 94 years old | |
| aheundaseot sal | 95 years old | |
| aheunyeoseot sal | 96 years old | |
| aheunilgop sal | 97 years old | |
| aheunyeodeol sal | 98 years old | |
| aheunahop sal | 99 years old | |
| baek sal | 100 years old | |
| baekan sal | 101 years old | |
| baekdu sal | 102 years old | |
| baekse sal | 103 years old | |
| baengne sal | 104 years old | |
| baekdaseot sal | 105 years old | |
| baengnyeoseot sal | 106 years old | |
| baegilgop sal | 107 years old | |
| baengnyeodeol sal | 108 years old | |
| baegahop sal | 109 years old | |
| baengnyeol sal | 110 years old | |
| baengnyeolhan sal | 111 years old |
How to Ask Someone’s Korean Age
You can also ask someone’s Korean age by using this question:
나이가 어떻게 되세요? (naiga eotteoke doeseyo?)
How old are you?
You may hear people ask you for your birthdate. That means you’ll tell them your birth year, birth month, and birthdate (in that order). For example:
생년월일이 어떻게 됩니까? (saengnyeonworiri eotteoke doemnikka?)
What’s your date of birth?
If you were born on Jan 15, 1995, you can say:
1995년 1월 15일 (천구백구십오 년 일 월 십오 일 | cheongubaekgusibo nyeon il wol sibo il)
This is a very common question if you go somewhere where you’ll need to be registered, such as at the dentist or doctor’s office. They use the year you were born plus your birth month and day to look you up in their systems.
Korean Age Words
Obviously, there is a large chance of confusion when non-Koreans talk about age with Koreans. The way that most Koreans avoid confusion is to use the terms “Korean age” and “international age” when talking about age.
한국 나이 (Hanguk nai) – Korean Age
만 나이 (man nai) – international age
Example sentence:
저는 올해 스무 살이지만 만으로는 열아홉 살이에요.
(jeoneun olhae seumu sarijiman maneuroneun yeorahop sarieyo.)
I’m twenty in Korean age but nineteen in Western age.
These are some common Korean words that you’ll hear. You may notice them if you live in Korea and know how to read Hangeul.
Other Korean Age Terms
You may also hear these terms when people are talking about international age. They all mean the same as “만 나이 (man nai).”
국제 나이 (gukje nai) – international age
미국 나이 (miguk nai) – American age
외국 나이 (oeguk nai) – foreign age
When is the international age used in Korea?
As a general rule, the Korean age is used for social interactions with people, whereas international age is used for more official things. For example, the age limits written on alcohol, cigarettes, movie posters, and so on are based on international age. The legal age for most things in Korea is 19. This means an international age of 19.
When Do Koreans Celebrate their Birthdays?
Everybody in Korea shares the same birthday: January 1st. However, that’s not when they celebrate their actual birthday.
Everybody has their own birthday, complete with cake and candles. Koreans celebrate their birthday on the day they were born. But on your birthday in Korea, you are not considered to be one year older than the day before.
Instead, Koreans all age on the same day. January 1st. No matter when your birthday is, if you were 40 years old on December 31st, then on January 1st, you will be 41. Korean age works as if everybody was born on January 1st.
Wow, we are the same age!
As age determines a complete host of social interactions in Korea, being of the same age as somebody can make everybody feel more comfortable. If somebody that you have just met finds out that you are the same age as them, they will often be excited. This is because if you and your friend are the same age in Korea, neither person will have any of the social obligations that come from being a different age from each other.
Being the same age as another person has a special word in Korean: 동갑 (donggap). You will often hear the expression 우리는 동갑이다 (urineun donggabida) which means “we are the same age”. As the Korean age system is based on year of birth, rather than your birthday, you will always be the same age as this new friend. Even if your birthday is the very next day!
Now that you know the difference between Korean age and international age, as well as how to calculate your Korean age. But don’t be upset that you have suddenly become two years older. After all, age is just a number!
If you liked this article and want to learn Korean, head over here for more great resources:
- How-to guide for learning the language: https://www.90daykorean.com/learn-korean/
- Korean Phrase List: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-phrases/
- Korean Grammar Guide: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-grammar/
- Korean Sentence Structure: https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-sentence-structure/
264 replies to "Korean Age: All About Age in Korea"
A typical pregnancy is 39/40 weeks, which is 9 months. 9 months out of 12 is 75% of a year not a whole! Having it listed as a year might confuse some people.
Thanks for teaching me about Korean age!
Sure, it’s our pleasure. ^^
Counting the age before born as 1 is called “nominal age” in English, 虚岁 in Chinese. Not counting the age in the womb is called “a full year of age”, 周岁. It is a Chinese tradition that has been used since 1800years ago. Age is age, it doesn’t has to be a integral multiplied years.