Chinese Pregnancy Calendar 2026: Gender Prediction by Conception Date

The Chinese Pregnancy Calendar — sometimes called the Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar or the Chinese Conception Chart — is a traditional tool used by expecting parents to predict whether their unborn baby will be a boy or a girl. Unlike modern pregnancy tracking apps that monitor fetal development week by week, this calendar focuses exclusively on one question: will it be a boy or a girl?

The method works by combining two pieces of information: the mother's lunar age at the time of conception and the lunar month in which conception occurred. Where these two values intersect on the traditional chart reveals the predicted gender. The chart itself is said to have originated during the Qing Dynasty, with some legends claiming it was discovered in a royal tomb near Beijing over 700 years ago.

It's important to distinguish the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar from a standard pregnancy calendar or due date calculator. A regular pregnancy calendar tracks your baby's development milestones — first heartbeat, organ formation, viable size — throughout the 40 weeks of gestation. The Chinese Pregnancy Calendar does none of that. Instead, it serves a single, focused purpose: gender prediction based on ancient lunar calculations.

Today, the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar remains enormously popular among pregnant women worldwide. It's a staple at baby showers, a conversation starter in online parenting communities, and a fun way for expecting parents to speculate before their anatomy scan. Whether you believe in its accuracy or simply enjoy the tradition, millions of parents consult the chart every year.

For a deeper understanding of how the lunar calendar system works, see our guide to the Chinese lunar calendar. If you want to learn how to use the calculator step by step, our calculator guide walks you through the entire process.

The 2026 Chinese calendar year is the Year of the Horse, beginning on February 17, 2026 (Chinese New Year) and ending on February 5, 2027. If you conceived before February 17, 2026, your conception falls in the previous lunar year (Year of the Snake), and you should use the 2025 chart instead.

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, meaning it follows both the moon's phases and the solar year. Each lunar month begins on a new moon and lasts roughly 29 or 30 days. Because the lunar year is approximately 11 days shorter than the Gregorian (Western) year, the start and end dates of each lunar month shift from year to year. This is why you can't simply use January through December for your prediction — you need the actual lunar month boundaries.

For the 2026 Chinese Gender Calendar, the lunar months map to the following approximate Gregorian date ranges:

The table below shows the traditional Chinese Pregnancy Calendar predictions for 2026 based on the mother's lunar age (rows) and the lunar conception month (columns). "B" indicates a boy prediction and "G" indicates a girl prediction.

To use this table, first calculate your lunar age at the time of conception, then find the lunar month in which you conceived (see the date table above). The cell where your row and column meet is your prediction.

For example, if your lunar age at conception is 29 and you conceived in lunar month 3 (approximately April 17 to May 16 in 2026), the chart predicts a boy. If the same woman conceived in lunar month 5, the prediction would be a girl. You can view the full traditional chart covering all ages from 18 to 45.

One of the most common mistakes people make when using the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar is using their Gregorian (Western) conception month instead of converting it to the corresponding lunar month. Because the lunar calendar does not align neatly with January through December, the conversion is essential for an authentic reading.

To determine your lunar conception month in 2026, you need to find the lunar month that contains your conception date. For instance, if you conceived on April 20, 2026, look at the lunar month table above. April 20 falls within lunar month 3 (April 17 to May 16), so your lunar conception month is month 3. If you conceived on April 15, that date falls in lunar month 2 (March 18 to April 16), giving you a different prediction entirely.

This is particularly important for conception dates that fall near the boundary between two lunar months. A difference of just one or two days can change which lunar month your conception belongs to, and therefore change the gender prediction. If your conception date is within three days of a lunar month boundary, double-check the exact new moon date for that period using a reliable lunar calendar converter or our online calculator.

Another nuance to be aware of is the possibility of a leap month (known as a "run yue" in Chinese). In certain years, the lunar calendar inserts an extra month to stay synchronized with the solar year. When a leap month occurs, conceptions during that month are typically assigned to the regular month it follows. For 2026, there is no leap month in the standard calendar, so this is not a concern for pregnancies conceived during this year. However, if you're looking at adjacent years, always check whether a leap month applies.

For a thorough explanation of how lunar age interacts with the chart, read our guide to the Chinese Birth Calendar and lunar age. Understanding both your lunar age and your lunar conception month ensures you're using the chart as it was traditionally intended.

The Chinese Pregnancy Calendar can be a fun companion throughout your entire pregnancy journey. Here's how expecting parents typically use it during each trimester.

First Trimester: Making the Prediction

The first trimester is when you'll make your initial prediction. Start by determining your conception date as accurately as possible. If you tracked ovulation, you likely have a good estimate. If not, your healthcare provider can estimate conception based on your last menstrual period (LMP) or early ultrasound measurements.

Next, calculate your lunar age at the time of conception. Remember, lunar age is typically one to two years older than your Western age. Once you have both values, use the prediction table above or our calculator to get your result. Many parents enjoy recording this prediction alongside their first ultrasound photo.

Second Trimester: Comparing with Ultrasound

The anatomy scan, typically performed between weeks 18 and 20, is when most parents learn the baby's gender through medical imaging. This is the moment of truth for your Chinese Pregnancy Calendar prediction. Did the chart get it right? Many parents share their results on social media or in parenting groups, contributing to the chart's ongoing cultural conversation.

Whether the prediction matches or not, it's an entertaining milestone to look back on. Some parents who find the prediction was correct feel a special connection to the tradition, while those whose prediction was wrong simply enjoy the experience for what it is — a fun guessing game rooted in history.

Third Trimester: Gender Reveal and Planning

Even in the third trimester, the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar can play a role. If you've chosen to keep the baby's gender a surprise, the chart prediction adds an extra layer of anticipation. Some parents incorporate the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar into their gender reveal party — presenting the chart's prediction first and then revealing the actual result from the ultrasound or NIPT test.

You can also use this time to look up predictions for potential future pregnancies, seeing which months the chart favors for a boy or girl based on your future lunar age. This is purely for fun, of course, but it's a way to keep the tradition alive beyond your current pregnancy.

If you conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other assisted reproductive technologies, you might wonder which date to use for the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar. IVF involves several key dates: egg retrieval, fertilization in the lab, and embryo transfer. Unlike natural conception, there's no single "conception moment" in the traditional sense.

Most practitioners who apply the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar to IVF pregnancies recommend using the embryo transfer date as the conception date. This is the date the embryo was placed in the uterus, which is the closest equivalent to the moment of conception in natural pregnancy. Some people prefer to use the egg retrieval date or the date of fertilization in the lab, but the transfer date is the most commonly used.

For frozen embryo transfers (FET), where the embryo was created in a previous cycle and transferred later, you should use the transfer date of the FET cycle, not the original egg retrieval date. The chart is based on when the pregnancy begins in the womb, so the transfer date is the most appropriate choice.

For parents who used donor eggs, the question of whose age to use adds another layer of complexity. Traditionally, the chart uses the mother's age — meaning the person carrying the pregnancy. If you used a donor egg, you would still use your own lunar age (the gestational carrier's age) and the embryo transfer date. Again, since the chart is not scientifically validated, there is no "correct" answer, only the traditional interpretation.

It's essential to set realistic expectations when using the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have tested the chart's predictions against actual birth outcomes and consistently found an accuracy rate of approximately 50% — statistically equivalent to a coin toss. There is no scientific mechanism by which the mother's age or the month of conception could determine the baby's sex.

The baby's biological sex is determined at the moment of fertilization by the sperm cell. If a sperm carrying a Y chromosome fertilizes the egg, the baby will be male (XY). If a sperm carrying an X chromosome fertilizes the egg, the baby will be female (XX). This process is independent of the mother's age, the month, the lunar calendar, or any other external factor tracked by the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar.

Why, then, do so many people feel the chart "worked" for them? The answer lies in confirmation bias. When the prediction matches the outcome, people remember and share the experience. When it doesn't match, they tend to forget or dismiss it. In online forums and social media groups, success stories are amplified while misses fade into the background, creating the illusion of higher accuracy.

The bottom line: enjoy the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar as a cultural tradition and lighthearted prediction game. Do not use it to make purchasing decisions, nursery color choices, or naming decisions before you have confirmation from a medical source. For more on the science behind the chart's accuracy, visit our Is It Accurate? page.