Definition

1. Adverb:
   • During one's lifetime: Refers to the period when a person was alive, used specifically when speaking about someone who is now deceased. It indicates actions, states, or events that occurred while that person was living.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Sinh tiền bố tôi rất thích thơ. (During his lifetime, my father was very fond of poetry.)
  • Cụ ông sinh tiền là một nhà giáo mẫu mực. (During his lifetime, the old gentleman was a model teacher.)
  • Bà nội tôi, sinh tiền, luôn giữ khu vườn rất đẹp. (My grandmother, during her lifetime, always kept the garden very beautiful.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is typically used in formal, respectful, or narrative contexts, often when reminiscing about a deceased person's character, habits, or accomplishments. It is placed before or after the subject it modifies.

Variants and Related Words

• Khi còn sống: An equivalent phrase meaning "when (he/she) was still alive." It is less formal than "sinh tiền."
  • Khi còn sống, ông ấy rất hào phóng. (When he was alive, he was very generous.)

Synonyms

• During his/her lifetime: The direct equivalent.
• While alive: A simpler, more direct synonym.
• In his/her life: A common phrase with a similar meaning, though less specific to the contrast with being deceased.

Notes on Usage

• "Sinh tiền" is an adverb, not an adjective. It modifies verbs or entire clauses to specify the time period (the lifetime of the deceased subject).
• It is almost exclusively used when the subject of the sentence has passed away. Using it for a living person would be incorrect.
• The word is considered literary and is commonly found in written biographies, eulogies, obituaries, or formal speech.

1. During one's lifetime
   • Sinh tiền bố tôi rất thích thơ
     During his lifetime, my father was very fond of poetry