Definition

Adverb: - During one's lifetime, in one's lifetime: Refers to the period when a person is alive. It is a literary and somewhat formal term, often used in written contexts like biographies, historical texts, or formal speech to describe events, achievements, or characteristics that existed or occurred while the person was living.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Lúc sinh bình, ông ấy là một nhà khoa học lỗi lạc. (During his lifetime, he was a brilliant scientist.)
  • Bà ấy, lúc sinh bình, rất yêu thích thiên nhiên. (In her lifetime, she loved nature very much.)
  • Tác phẩm đó không được công bố lúc tác giả sinh bình. (That work was not published during the author's lifetime.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is typically used in a temporal phrase, most commonly with "lúc" (when, during) or "khi" (when) to form "lúc sinh bình" or "khi sinh bình", meaning "during one's lifetime".
• It is used to contrast with posthumous events or recognition. For example, fame (during one's life) versus fame after death.

Variants and Related Words

• Bình sinh (平生): A synonym with identical meaning and usage (during one's lifetime). It is also a literary term.
  • Bình sinh, ông ta là người cần mẫn. (During his lifetime, he was a diligent person.)

Synonyms

• Khi còn sống: When (one) was still alive. (More common in everyday speech)
• Trong suốt cuộc đời: Throughout one's life. (Emphasizes the entire duration)
• Lúc sinh thời: During one's time alive. (Similar formal/literary register)

Notes on Meaning

• Sinh bình is a Sino-Vietnamese compound word (Hán Việt):
  • Sinh (生): means "life", "to be born", "to live".
  • Bình (平): here carries the meaning of "ordinary", "usual", or "throughout". Combined, it conveys the sense of "throughout the ordinary course of life" or "during one's life".
• It does not mean "to give birth peacefully" or "student soldier". Those would be different compounds or misinterpretations of the characters. The target meaning is strictly temporal, referring to the period of being alive.

1. Lifetime
   • Lúc sinh bình
     During one's lifetime