Read the words before reading the whole entry
A Chinese calendar can be difficult before any date conversion begins. What does 廿三 mean? How does 朔 relate to the start of a lunar month? Why does a text distinguish different kinds of solar terms? This glossary focuses on reading vocabulary. First identify whether a word describes a date, a lunar phase or a seasonal marker.
Make four notebook columns: the original word, your explanation, its location in the source, and your remaining question. Add three words at a time rather than copying an entire page. The examples below are reading exercises, not dates for a particular year.
初 and 廿: identify the day number
In a lunar-date column, 初二 and 初三 are ways of writing days within the month. 廿 means twenty, so 廿一 and 廿三 mean twenty-one and twenty-three. Write a numeral beside the original until the form becomes familiar. In 八月廿三, separate the eighth month from its twenty-third day.
The Hong Kong Observatory’s annual conversion table provides examples of these labels. A lunar month’s first day may be shown with the month name. Read the legend and nearby cells together; a tightly cropped screenshot can remove the context that distinguishes a month from a day.
朔 and 望: words about lunar phases
The Observatory explains 朔 as new moon and 望 as full moon, with each lunar month beginning at 朔. Start with those short definitions. They describe lunar phases, a different category from a Gregorian date printed beside them.
A useful note is: “I understand this word, but still need the relevant year’s information to identify the date.” Knowing a term does not complete a date check. Nor should an observation of the visible Moon fill in missing information in an old record.
閏: retain the complete month label
When 閏 appears before a lunar month, preserve it as part of the label. Do not shorten 閏六月 to 六月. The Observatory describes the Chinese calendar as combining lunar motion and the Sun’s position. For introductory reading, remember that a lunar leap month and a Gregorian leap day are different concepts.
Place 六月 and 閏六月 side by side on a vocabulary card to remind yourself that the labels are not interchangeable. For actual conversion, continue to our guide to checking lunar leap-month dates; this glossary does not replace a year-specific table.
Solar terms: notice how the author uses the category
The familiar expression 二十四節氣 names the full set of twenty-four solar terms. The Observatory also distinguishes twelve 節氣 and twelve 中氣 within that set. Check whether the author uses the broad expression or that finer distinction before deciding that two explanations contradict each other.
Your notes might say: “This article uses solar terms for the entire set,” followed by “This table has a separate 中氣 column.” There is no need to memorise every name immediately or turn a traditional name into a promise about local weather.
Keep unfamiliar time and school-specific terms in their original form
A cultural lecture or metaphysics text may introduce 時辰 or rules for changing the day. If its time convention has not been explained, preserve the original wording and ask which standard is being used. Do not turn a guessed interpretation into a precise clock time in a formal record.
For example: “On page three, I understand this term as a period of time. How does this course define its boundaries?” Linking the question to a specific passage makes clarification easier.
Turn the glossary into a learning tool
Choose one calendar entry and mark a date word, a lunar-phase word and a seasonal term. Explain each in your own words. Understanding the kind of information being presented is more useful than collecting unfamiliar characters without context. Keep a question mark where your understanding is incomplete.
For a more structured introduction, explore the Feng Shui and BaZi course and bring your vocabulary cards when asking about its starting level and terminology.