Definition

Idiom (Four-character idiom / Thành ngữ Hán Việt): - To live together until one hundred years old: A traditional blessing wishing a married couple a long, happy, and harmonious life together until extreme old age. It expresses the hope for a lifelong union filled with companionship and mutual care.

Usage Examples

• As a blessing:
  • Chúc hai bạn trẻ bách niên giai lão. (We wish the young couple to live together until one hundred years old.)
  • Lời chúc bách niên giai lão thường được dành cho các cặp vợ chồng mới cưới. (The wish for "bách niên giai lão" is often given to newlywed couples.)

Advanced Usage

• This idiom is deeply rooted in Confucian values and Vietnamese wedding culture. It is a formal, poetic, and highly auspicious phrase, almost exclusively used in the context of marriage. It is commonly seen on wedding cards, banners, and heard in ceremonial speeches.

Variants and Related Words

• Trăm năm hạnh phúc: A more vernacular Vietnamese phrase with a similar meaning, "happiness for one hundred years."
• Đầu bạc răng long: Another idiom meaning "until hair is white and teeth are loose," also signifying growing old together.

Synonyms

• To live to a ripe old age together
• Lifelong companionship
• Until death do us part (conceptual similarity in Western wedding vows)

Related Idioms

• Phu xướng phụ tùy: "The husband leads, the wife follows." An idiom describing traditional marital harmony, often used alongside "bách niên giai lão" in wedding contexts.
• Gia đình hòa thuận: Family harmony, a related concept often wished for alongside a long marriage.

1. To live together one hundred years old