Definition

1. Noun:
   • Childhood: The period of a person's life from birth to puberty; the state or time of being a child.
   • The quality or state of being young and innocent: Refers to the characteristics of youth, such as innocence, naivety, or simplicity.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy có một tuổi thơ hạnh phúc ở nông thôn. (He had a happy childhood in the countryside.)
  • Những kỷ niệm tuổi thơ của tôi thật đẹp. (My childhood memories are beautiful.)
  • Cô ấy vẫn giữ được nét ngây thơ của tuổi thơ. (She still retains the innocence of childhood.)

Advanced Usage

• "tuổi thơ dữ dội": A turbulent, intense, or adventurous childhood. Often used in literary contexts.

  • Cuốn sách kể về một tuổi thơ dữ dội trong chiến tranh. (The book tells of a turbulent childhood during the war.)

• "hoài niệm tuổi thơ" / "nỗi nhớ tuổi thơ": Nostalgia for childhood; longing for one's childhood days.

  • Bài thơ đầy hoài niệm tuổi thơ. (The poem is full of nostalgia for childhood.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thời thơ ấu (n): A more formal or literary synonym for "tuổi thơ," meaning childhood or infancy.

  • Thời thơ ấu của ông ấy trải qua nhiều khó khăn. (His early childhood was fraught with difficulties.)

• Tuổi trẻ thơ (n): Emphasizes the very young, tender part of childhood.

• Trẻ thơ (n): A young child; children (as a collective). This refers to the child itself, not the period.

Synonyms

• Thời niên thiếu: Youth, adolescence (can overlap with later childhood/early teen years).
• Buổi thiếu thời: One's early years, youth (literary).

Related Phrases

• "Sống lại tuổi thơ": To relive one's childhood.

  • Chuyến về quê khiến tôi như sống lại tuổi thơ. (The trip back to my hometown made me feel like I was reliving my childhood.)

• "Đánh cắp tuổi thơ": To steal/rob one's childhood (e.g., through forced labor, war).

  • Chiến tranh đã đánh cắp tuổi thơ của nhiều đứa trẻ. (The war stole the childhood of many children.)

Related Idioms

• "Tuổi thơ đến hai lần": Literally "childhood comes twice." This idiom is not standard in Vietnamese. A common, related concept is cherishing childlike joy or experiencing joy through one's own children, but it is not expressed through this exact phrase. A more standard expression about childhood is implied in the value placed on it.
• The value of childhood is often expressed in sayings like: "Tuổi thơ là khoảng thời gian quý giá nhất." (Childhood is the most precious time.)

noun

1. childhood