农历

• Pinyin: nóng lì
• Hanzi breakdown: 农 = simplified 農 (farming); 历 = 厂 (cliff/step) + 日 (sun) — tracking the sun's passage, i.e. keeping track of time/dates

Meaning

The Chinese lunar calendar; the traditional lunisolar calendar used in China.

The traditional Chinese calendar system based on lunar cycles, also incorporating solar terms (节气). Used to determine traditional festivals: Spring Festival (正月初一), Mid-Autumn Festival (八月十五), Dragon Boat Festival (五月初五). Also called 夏历 or 阴历 (lunar calendar), though 农历 is the most common term. Contrast with 公历/阳历 (Gregorian/solar calendar). Still widely used for calculating auspicious dates for weddings, funerals, and other life events.

Examples

1. 按照农历，今年的除夕夜是在公历一月二十八日，届时亿万家庭将团聚一堂共迎新春。 According to the lunar calendar, Lunar New Year’s Eve falls on January 28 on the Gregorian calendar this year, when hundreds of millions of families will gather to welcome the new year.
2. 中国的传统节日大多依据农历来确定日期，如清明、端午、中秋和重阳，每年在公历上的日期各不相同。 Most traditional Chinese festivals are set by the lunar calendar—such as Qingming, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Double Ninth Festival—so their dates on the Gregorian calendar change every year.
3. 许多老一辈中国人至今仍习惯按农历记生日，认为这才是真正属于自己的诞辰。 Many older Chinese people still prefer to record their birthdays according to the lunar calendar, believing that is their true birth date.

Usage Guide

Context: culture, tradition, festivals, everyday life

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 农历新年，也就是我们俗称的春节，是中国最重要的传统节日，承载着团圆、辞旧迎新的深厚文化意义。(The Lunar New Year, commonly known as the Spring Festival, is China's most important traditional holiday, carrying the profound cultural significance of reunion and bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.)
• 在中国农村，许多重要的农事活动如播种和收割，至今仍参照农历二十四节气来安排，体现了这一传统历法在现代农业中的持续价值。(In the Chinese countryside, many important farming activities such as sowing and harvesting are still scheduled with reference to the twenty-four solar terms in the lunar calendar, reflecting the enduring value of this traditional calendar in modern agriculture.)

Don't Say

• 将'农历'与'阴历'作为完全等同的词随意互换 — while 农历 and 阴历 both refer to the traditional Chinese calendar, 农历 (literally 'farmer's calendar') emphasises its agricultural roots and is the more common modern term; 阴历 is used in more technical or comparative contexts

Origin & History

农 (farming/agriculture) + 历 (calendar) — the farmer's calendar; originally designed to guide agricultural activities according to lunar and solar cycles

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient to modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal