龙套 (lóng tào) — (in Chinese opera) a walk-on role; a bit part; (figurative) an insignificant role; a minor player

Definition

In Chinese opera, 龙套 refers to extras and walk-on roles with no spoken lines. Figuratively, it means a minor, unimportant person in any group or project.

noun
(in Chinese opera) a walk-on rolea bit part(figurative) an insignificant rolea minor player
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zài xì bān lǐ yì zhí pǎo lóng tào, cóng méi yǎn guò zhǔ jué.
    He has always played walk-on roles in the opera troupe and never played a lead.
  • ，龙套，。
    Zài zhè ge xiàng mù lǐ, wǒ zhǐ shì gè lóng tào, zhēn zhèng zuò jué dìng de shì jīng lǐ.
    In this project, I'm just a minor player; the manager is the one who really makes decisions.
  • 龙套，。
    Bié xiǎo kàn lóng tào yǎn yuán, méi yǒu tā men xì jiù yǎn bù chéng le.
    Don't underestimate the bit-part actors; without them the show couldn't go on.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

龙lóngdragon
套tàorobe

From 龙 dragon and 套 robe, it names opera soldiers' dragon-patterned costume, hence a bit role.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

Open 龙 →

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

  • 大大dàlarge
  • 長長chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →

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