hiện đại

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Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 現代, composed of (now) and (age; period).

Pronunciation

Adjective

hiện đại

  1. modern
    Hiện đại cái nỗi gì? Có mà hại điện thì có!
    Modern my ass!

Usage notes

  • hiện đại (post-1917) does not really correspond well with modern in the sense of "modern period", similarly to Japanese 現代 (gendai, post-1945). In historical classifications, it is usually preceded by cận đại, roughly "pre-modern" (in textbooks, generally from the late 16th century to 1917), which could also translate to "modern", similarly to Japanese 近代 (kindai, late 19th century to 1945).
  • hại điện (literally harmful for electrical use) is a common jocular phrase to ridicule things that are said to be "modern", as in "new and technologically advanced." It is a result of nói lái.
  • Do not confuse with hiện tại.

See also