Expert: Terry Thatcher Waltz - 3/22/2007

Question
I have heard that some Chinese people count the time spent in the mothers womb is counted as the baby's first year of life. So their normal first birthday to us would be their second birthday. Me and my friend have been debating this. Have you heard of this tradition?

Answer
Most people in Taiwan do believe this, and as a result, I never turned 30 years old (I had moved to Taiwan at age 29 (my last birthday in the US was my 29th) and my next birthday in Taiwan was my 31st...seriously, when talking about age we had to specify Chinese or Western age. So yes, this is common.
Actually the details have to do with when the Chinese New Year falls. A baby that is born two days before Chinese New Year (which is early in the year, between the end of Jan. and March) will "turn two" on Chinese New Year, because he was "one" when he was born. I can't think of having met anyone in this situation but I've heard about it.
Interestingly, people usually talk about the year they were born, not the number of their age. It's common to say, "I'm 1973" instead of the age.