xưa
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Ancient, olden, of old: Refers to a time that is very far in the past, belonging to a distant era.
- Former, past: Describes something that existed or happened in a previous time, not the present.
Noun:
- The past, olden times, antiquity: Used to denote the period of time long ago.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Phong tục xưa (Ancient customs)
- Chuyện ngày xưa (A story from the old days)
- Noun:
- Từ thuở xưa (Since ancient times)
- Người xưa có câu... (The ancients had a saying...)
Advanced Usage
- "ngày xưa": long ago, once upon a time (often used to begin stories).
- Ngày xưa, có một vị vua... (Once upon a time, there was a king...)
- "thời xưa" / "thuở xưa": in the old days, in antiquity.
- Thời xưa, con người sống hòa hợp với thiên nhiên. (In ancient times, humans lived in harmony with nature.)
Variants and Related Words
- Xưa kia (adv/phr): in the past, formerly.
- Xưa kia nơi đây là một cánh rừng. (Formerly, this place was a forest.)
- Cổ xưa (adj): ancient, archaic (emphasizing great age and tradition).
- Một nền văn minh cổ xưa (An ancient civilization)
Synonyms
- Ancient: belonging to the very distant past.
- Olden: of or relating to a past era.
- Bygone: past, former.
Related Idioms
- Chuyện người xưa tích cũ: Stories of old people and old events; refers to very old tales or traditions.
- Ông cụ thích kể chuyện người xưa tích cũ. (The old man likes to tell tales of yore.)
- Xưa như Trái Đất: As old as the hills; used to describe something very old or outdated.
- Chiếc máy đó xưa như Trái Đất rồi. (That machine is as old as the hills.)