The 24 Solar Terms: Chinese and English Names Explained
Learn the 24 solar-term names, understand the calendar label, and keep seasonal traditions separate from local weather.
You open the almanac and see Cold Dew. Is it a weather warning, a lunar phase, or a name for today's entry? It is a solar-term label. Knowing which part of the calendar it belongs to makes the whole page easier to read.
This guide explains the 24 solar terms, keeps their Chinese names beside the English labels used on YUAN, and shows how to check a dated example in the daily almanac.
What is a solar term?
The 24 solar terms, or jieqi (节气), mark successive positions in the Sun's apparent yearly path. Each boundary is 15 degrees of solar longitude from the next. The Hong Kong Observatory's explanation describes the astronomical framework and the seasonal origins of the names.
These are different from lunar phases such as New Moon and Full Moon. On YUAN, Lunar date and Latest solar term are separate fields. One gives a lunar month and day; the other names the term associated with the selected civil date.
The 24 names in order
This list starts with Beginning of Spring and continues around the yearly cycle. It follows the English labels already used by our calendar. It is a vocabulary table, rather than a list of fixed dates or instructions.
Swipe or scroll sideways if needed.
| Chinese | English label on YUAN |
|---|---|
| 立春 | Beginning of Spring |
| 雨水 | Rain Water |
| 惊蛰 | Awakening of Insects |
| 春分 | Spring Equinox |
| 清明 | Clear and Bright |
| 谷雨 | Grain Rain |
| 立夏 | Beginning of Summer |
| 小满 | Grain Buds |
| 芒种 | Grain in Ear |
| 夏至 | Summer Solstice |
| 小暑 | Minor Heat |
| 大暑 | Major Heat |
| 立秋 | Beginning of Autumn |
| 处暑 | End of Heat |
| 白露 | White Dew |
| 秋分 | Autumn Equinox |
| 寒露 | Cold Dew |
| 霜降 | Frost’s Descent |
| 立冬 | Beginning of Winter |
| 小雪 | Minor Snow |
| 大雪 | Major Snow |
| 冬至 | Winter Solstice |
| 小寒 | Minor Cold |
| 大寒 | Major Cold |
English wording differs between publications. For example, a source may use “Frost” where YUAN uses “Frost's Descent.” Compare the Chinese name before concluding that the sources mean different events. This table keeps YUAN's existing English display labels beside the Chinese names from its pinned calendar library. Our method identifies the software and translation choices.
Does the name describe the weather where I live?
Not necessarily. The names reflect historical seasonal and agricultural observations associated with China, including the climate of its central regions. They are not a local forecast for every country, altitude or hemisphere. A label mentioning snow does not establish that snow will fall where you are.
For an overseas reader, the useful distinction is between learning the calendar's vocabulary and describing your own surroundings. You can recognize a traditional name while using local observations and forecasts for the conditions around you.
What does “Latest solar term” mean on this website?
The date tool shows a solar-term label for the selected Beijing-based civil date. It normally remains the same between successive term-start dates. On a term-start date, the tool shows the new term for that date; it is not a live countdown to the precise astronomical instant.
That explains why several neighboring dates can have the same label. It also explains why choosing a date in YUAN is different from supplying an exact time and location for an astronomical event.
If the selected day is unclear, use Today to return to the current date in Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8. If you are comparing an entry with someone else, use Copy selected date link so that both browsers examine the same date. See our time-zone guide for the distinction between a fixed date and the current day.
A reproducible example: October 2026
Open 20 October 2026 in the almanac. The term is Cold Dew, 寒露. Now choose 23 October 2026: the label becomes Frost's Descent, 霜降.
The Hong Kong Observatory's 2026 conversion table independently marks the Frost solar-term date on 23 October. Our example checks a calendar label. It does not predict frost, recommend an activity or validate a fortune-telling claim.
These are fixed examples, not an assertion that either date is today. Return to the unfixed daily link for a current entry.
Try a short observation note
Choose one term from the table and write its Chinese and English names. Then make a separate note of something you can actually observe where you live: the light at your window, the state of a familiar tree, or the temperature reported by your local weather service.
Keep the two notes separate. “The calendar says Cold Dew” and “my afternoon was warm” can both be true. The point is to notice the difference between a traditional label and a local observation, rather than force your experience to match a name.
This is YUAN's optional reading exercise. It is not a recovered ritual, farming timetable or forecast.
Where to read next
For the astronomical explanation and a longitude table, use the Hong Kong Observatory's solar-term introduction. For an individual year, check a dated calendar reference instead of treating the vocabulary table above as a date calculator.
On YUAN, continue with how to read Yi and Ji, why the date may differ from yours, or the bilingual activity glossary. Solar-term names and activity labels belong to different parts of the entry; learning one does not turn the other into a personal recommendation.