俗套 (sú tào) — conventional pattern; cliché; stale formula

Definition

A cliché or stale formula — a familiar pattern that has lost its freshness. Often paired with 老 or 落入 to mean an old, worn-out convention.

noun

conventional patternclichéstale formula

俗套，。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng méi yǒu luò rù sú tào, qíng jié hěn xīn yǐng.
This movie didn't fall into clichés; the plot is very original.
俗套，。
Tā de yǎn jiǎng quán shì sú tào, tīng dé dà jiā hūn hūn yù shuì.
His speech was full of conventional patterns, making everyone drowsy.
俗套。
Xiě wén zhāng yào jǐn liàng bì miǎn nà xiē lǎo sú tào.
When writing articles, try to avoid those old clichés.

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.

俗 means common or conventional, and 套 gives a pattern, so it refers to a stale conventional pattern.

Characters in this word

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

亻谷俗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

谷

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

俗 is built from 亻, a person, and 谷, which gives the sound; it refers to customs of people.

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

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.

Appears in