Definition

1. Adjective (phrase):
   • Past marriageable age: Used primarily to describe a woman who is considered to have passed the traditional or socially expected age for marriage without having married.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô ấy sợ mình sẽ bị gọi là nhỡ thì. (She is afraid she will be called past marriageable age.)
  • Trong suy nghĩ cổ hủ, cô gái 30 tuổi ấy bị xem là nhỡ thì. (In old-fashioned thinking, that 30-year-old woman is considered past her prime for marriage.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can carry a strong, often negative, social connotation related to outdated gender norms and family pressure.
• It is increasingly viewed as an archaic and impolite term in modern discourse.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhỡ thời: A variant with identical meaning.
  • Bà ấy không tin vào khái niệm nhỡ thời. (She does not believe in the concept of being past the marriageable time.)

Synonyms

• On the shelf: An informal English idiom with a similar, though dated, connotation.
• Past one's prime (for marriage): A descriptive phrase indicating the same social judgment.

Related Idioms

• Ế: A modern, colloquial, and blunt Vietnamese slang term meaning "leftover," used for both unmarried men and women, often in the phrase (leftover for a husband) or (leftover for a wife).
  • Cô ấy cười và nói: "Mình không sợ bị gọi là ế đâu." (She laughed and said, "I'm not afraid of being called 'leftover.'")