Definition

1. Noun:

   • The age of forty; the forties (age): Specifically refers to the period of life when a person is forty years old. It is a formal, literary, and somewhat classical term derived from the Sino-Vietnamese lexicon, where "tứ" means four and "tuần" means a decade (ten years).
   • The fortieth birthday celebration: Can refer to the commemoration or event marking this age.

2. Adjective:

   • Forty years old: Describes a person who has reached the age of forty.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông ấy đã bước vào tứ tuần. (He has entered his forties.)
  • Lễ mừng tứ tuần của bà được tổ chức rất trang trọng. (Her fortieth birthday celebration was held very formally.)
• Adjective:
  • Một người đàn ông tứ tuần. (A forty-year-old man.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in formal writing, literature, or respectful speech. In everyday modern conversation, phrases like "bốn mươi tuổi" (forty years old) or "ngoài bốn mươi" (over forty) are more common.
• It can imply a stage of maturity, stability, or the prime of life.

Variants and Related Words

• Tam tuần (n): Thirty years old (three decades).
  • Anh ấy mới tam tuần. (He is just thirty.)
• Ngũ tuần (n): Fifty years old (five decades).
  • Lễ ngũ tuần. (A fiftieth birthday celebration.)

Synonyms

• Bốn mươi tuổi: Forty years old (neutral, common).
• Tuổi bốn mươi: The age of forty.
• Ngoài bốn mươi: Over forty.

Related Idioms and Classical References

• "Quá niên trạc ngoại tứ tuần": A classical literary phrase meaning "past the year, approximately beyond forty years of age." It indicates a person is a little over forty.
  • Nhân vật trong truyện được miêu tả là "quá niên trạc ngoại tứ tuần". (The character in the story is described as being a little over forty.)

adj

1. forty

noun

1. forties