Definition

1. Noun:
   • An era; a bygone time: Refers to a period in the distant past, often with a poetic or nostalgic tone. It denotes a time long gone, not a specific date but a general past epoch.
   • A time (in one's life): Can refer to a specific period or age during a person's life, e.g., childhood or youth.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Thủa xưa, có một vị vua anh minh. (In eras past, there was a wise king.)
  • Tôi nhớ những kỷ niệm thủa còn đi học. (I remember the memories from the time I was still in school.)
  • Biết nhau từ thủa còn hàn vi. (They knew each other from the time they were still in humble circumstances.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "thủa" is a poetic and somewhat archaic variant of the more common word "thuở". It is primarily used in literary contexts, proverbs, and set phrases to evoke a sense of a distant, often idealized past.
• It is almost never used to refer to the present or future.

Variants and Related Words

• Thuở (n): The standard, more commonly used form with identical meaning.

  • Thuở nhỏ, tôi hay chơi ở cánh đồng này. (In my childhood, I often played in this field.)

• Thủa nào (phrase): An interrogative phrase meaning "what time?" or "when?" in a poetic sense, referring to an indefinite past.

  • Thủa nào còn trẻ, ông ấy đã từng phiêu lưu khắp nơi. (In what bygone time of his youth, he had adventures everywhere.)

Synonyms

• Era: A long and distinct period of history.
• Time: A period in the past, present, or future.
• Days (as in "days of old"): A period in the past.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Thủa hàn vi: The time of poverty or humble origins.

  • Ông ấy không quên thủa hàn vi của mình. (He has not forgotten the time of his humble origins.)

• Thủa ấu thơ: Childhood days.

  • Câu chuyện đưa tôi về thủa ấu thơ. (The story brought me back to my childhood days.)

• Thủa xa xưa / Thủa xưa: In ancient times; long, long ago.

  • Truyền thuyết kể về những anh hùng thủa xa xưa. (Legends tell of heroes from ancient times.)