Definition

1. Noun:
   • A year period; an age: A specific period of years, often used to denote a person's age or a span of time in a person's life. It is a formal or literary term.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông ấy đã bước sang niên kỷ thứ bảy. (He has entered his seventh decade [of life].)
  • Tác phẩm này được sáng tác ở niên kỷ thứ năm của đời ông. (This work was created in the fifth decade of his life.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "niên kỷ" is often used in formal, biographical, or literary contexts to elegantly refer to a period of ten years in a person's life, similar to "a decade of one's life." It is less commonly used for general historical periods, where "thập kỷ" is preferred.

Variants and Related Words

• Thập kỷ / Thập niên (n): A decade, a period of ten years.

  • Ba thập kỷ đã trôi qua. (Three decades have passed.)

• Niên đại (n): Chronological age, era, or date (often of an object or event).

  • Niên đại của bức tượng vẫn chưa được xác định. (The statue's age has not yet been determined.)

Synonyms

• Decade (of life): A period of ten years in a person's age.
• Age period: A specific span of years in one's life.

Notes on Usage

• "Niên kỷ" is not to be confused with "thế kỷ" (century) or "thiên niên kỷ" (millennium). Its primary use relates to the years of a human lifespan.
• It is a somewhat formal term. In everyday conversation, Vietnamese speakers might simply state the age or use phrases like "ở độ tuổi" (at the age of).