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.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.