Multi-calendar converter

One date, ten calendars

The same instant in time has a different name everywhere. Today might be the 9th of a Hijri month, deep in a Hebrew year numbered in the 5,000s, a Chinese day inside a named zodiac year, and a Julian date almost two weeks behind your phone. This tool lines them all up from one Gregorian input so you can see the whole picture at a glance, then click through to the dedicated converter for any system you want to explore in depth.

Why the year number is different everywhere

Every calendar counts from its own epoch, a starting point chosen for religious or historical reasons. The Hebrew calendar counts Anno Mundi from the traditional creation of the world, so its year numbers sit near 5,786. The Islamic calendar starts from the Hijra in 622 CE. The Buddhist Era runs 543 years ahead of the Gregorian count, while the Ethiopian calendar sits seven to eight years behind. The Julian calendar shares our epoch but has drifted about thirteen days because it over-counts leap years. Different starting line, different length of year, different number on the same day.

Which calendars are lunar, solar, or lunisolar

A lunar calendar like the Islamic one follows the moon alone, so its months drift through the seasons over a 33-year cycle. A solar calendar like the Persian, Coptic, Ethiopian or Julian ties the year to the sun, keeping the seasons fixed. A lunisolar calendar like the Hebrew, Chinese and Hindu systems tracks the moon for months but inserts an occasional leap month to stay in step with the solar year. Each card above is tagged with its type so you can see why the day numbers move the way they do.

Need a single tradition rather than the full grid? Jump straight to the Hijri converter, the Chinese calendar, or see today in every calendar.