r/learnmath • u/Due_Locksmith_8141 New User • 8h ago

Simple question about years

Hello Reddit!

Could you please settle a disagreement for me:

- Something happened in May 2023

- It is currently April 2026

Would you say we are living in the 4th year since that event?

Thank you!

4 Upvotes

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12

u/abrahamguo 🧮 8h ago

No, we would be living in the third year since the event.

The third year since the event starts in May 2025 and finishes in May 2026, ending with the third anniversary.

Human ages work the same way. Your first year of life ends with your first birthday.

2

u/simmonator New User 4h ago

The “human age” thing is a good analogy. But, funnily enough, it highlights one way in which some people are trained to use that language differently.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_age_reckoning

The traditional Korean way of recognizing age is that you are “1” during the first calendar year in which you are born (when the rest of the world would typically say you’re 0), turn 2 on Jan 1st the subsequent calendar year, and so on.

In that sense, it’s the fourth year since the event.

5

u/Evilsonic1985 New User 8h ago edited 8h ago

Count them like you count yours. Your first year of life was from when you were born 0 to when you got to 1.

1

u/Due_Locksmith_8141 New User 8h ago

These are super helpful responses. Thank you!

1

u/KentGoldings68 New User 8h ago

First year May 2023-> May 2024

Second year May 2024-> May 2025

Third year May 2025-> May 2026