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老生常谈 (lǎo shēng cháng tán) — a platitude; a cliché

Definition

A chengyu meaning a stale, over-repeated idea — literally 'what an old scholar always says.' It criticizes a statement as a boring cliché with no fresh insight, stronger than just calling something "common."

idiom
a platitudea cliché

Examples

  • 老生常谈，。
    Tā de huà dōu shì lǎo shēng cháng tán, méi shén me xīn yì.
    His words are all clichés, nothing new.
  • 老生常谈，。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng de guān diǎn dōu shì lǎo shēng cháng tán, méi yǒu shēn dù.
    The viewpoints in this article are all platitudes, no depth.
  • 老生常谈，。
    Bié zài shuō zhè xiē lǎo shēng cháng tán le, shuō diǎn xīn xiān de.
    Don't talk about these clichés anymore, say something fresh.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng常cháng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

常 pairs 巾, a cloth, with 尚 as a sound part; the form originally referred to a lower garment.

Open 常 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 談; 谈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
炎
炎yán談tán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 谈, the traditional form 談 pairs 言 (speech) with 炎 (yán) as the sound part.

Open 谈 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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