tuổi ta
Definition
- Noun:
- Vietnamese age / Traditional East Asian age reckoning: A traditional method of counting a person's age, predominantly used in Vietnam and other East Asian cultures. In this system, a person is considered one year old at birth (counting time in the womb), and everyone gains one year on the occasion of Tết (Lunar New Year), not on their individual birthday.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Theo tuổi ta, đứa bé vừa sinh ra đã được một tuổi. (According to traditional Vietnamese age reckoning, a newborn baby is already one year old.)
- Ông tôi luôn tính tuổi theo tuổi ta. (My grandfather always calculates his age using the traditional method.)
- Tuổi ta của tôi lớn hơn tuổi Tây hai năm. (My traditional age is two years older than my Western age.)
Advanced Usage
- The concept is often contrasted with "tuổi Tây" (Western age/solar age), which counts age from zero at birth and adds a year on each birthday.
- Người Việt thường dùng cả tuổi ta và tuổi Tây. (Vietnamese people often use both traditional age and Western age.)
Variants and Related Words
Tuổi mụ (n): A synonym for "tuổi ta," emphasizing the age counted from the time of conception.
- Tuổi mụ của đứa trẻ tính cả thời gian trong bụng mẹ. (The child's "tuổi mụ" includes the time in the mother's womb.)
Tuổi Tây (n): Western age, international age, calculated from birth.
- Trên giấy tờ, tôi ghi tuổi Tây. (On official documents, I record my Western age.)
Synonyms
- Traditional age: Age calculated by traditional East Asian reckoning.
- East Asian age reckoning: The broader cultural practice of which "tuổi ta" is a part.
Related Cultural Concepts
Tính tuổi: to calculate age.
- Tính tuổi ta phải dựa vào năm âm lịch. (To calculate traditional age, one must base it on the lunar year.)
Ăn Tết: to celebrate the Lunar New Year; the event when everyone gains a year in "tuổi ta."
- Mỗi khi ăn Tết là mọi người lại thêm một tuổi ta. (Every Lunar New Year, everyone gains one year in traditional age.)