Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Nubile: Describes a young woman who has reached the age of marriage or is considered physically mature for marriage. The term carries a classical, literary nuance and is now considered archaic or formal.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô gái ấy đã đến tuổi cập kê. (That girl has reached a nubile age.)
  • "Xuân xanh xấp xỉ tới tuần cập kê" (Truyện Kiều). ("In her fresh youth, she was approaching the age of nubility" (The Tale of Kieu).)

Advanced Usage

• The term "cập kê" originates from a classical Chinese custom, where a girl's coming of age at fifteen was marked by the ritual of wearing a hairpin (kê). Its use in modern Vietnamese is almost exclusively found in classical poetry, historical texts, or used deliberately for a formal, old-fashioned effect.

Variants and Related Words

• Đến tuổi: (phrase) To come of age.
• Trưởng thành: (adjective) Mature, grown-up (general term, not specific to marriage).

Synonyms

• Marriageable: Suitable for marriage.
• Of marriageable age: At an age considered suitable for marriage.

Notes on Usage

• "Cập kê" is an obsolete term. In contemporary Vietnamese, phrases like "đến tuổi lấy chồng" (to reach the age of getting married) are used instead for clarity and modernity.
• Its usage today might be perceived as overly formal, poetic, or even mildly derogatory if used in a purely objectifying context, as it focuses on a woman's age and marital eligibility from a traditional perspective.

adj

1. Nubile