老套
lǎo tào
Pinyin

Definition

老套
 - 
lǎo tào
  1. hackneyed
  2. well-worn (phrase etc)
  3. same old story
  4. stereotypical fashion

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

外套
wài tào
  1. 1 coat
  2. 2 jacket
  3. 3 CL:件[jiàn]
套
tào
  1. 1 to cover
  2. 2 to encase
  3. 3 cover
  4. 4 sheath
  5. 5 to overlap
  6. 6 to interleave
  7. 7 to model after
  8. 8 to copy
  9. 9 formula
  10. 10 harness
  11. 11 loop of rope
  12. 12 (fig.) to fish for
  13. 13 to obtain slyly
  14. 14 classifier for sets, collections
  15. 15 bend (of a river or mountain range, in place names)
  16. 16 tau (Greek letter Ττ)
老
lǎo
  1. 1 prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity
  2. 2 old (of people)
  3. 3 venerable (person)
  4. 4 experienced
  5. 5 of long standing
  6. 6 always
  7. 7 all the time
  8. 8 of the past
  9. 9 very
  10. 10 outdated
  11. 11 (of meat etc) tough
老公
lǎo gōng
  1. 1 (coll.) husband
老婆
lǎo pó
  1. 1 (coll.) wife
老妈
lǎo mā
  1. 1 mother
  2. 2 mom
老师
lǎo shī
  1. 1 teacher
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè],位[wèi]
老板
lǎo bǎn
  1. 1 variant of 老闆|老板[lǎo bǎn]
老爸
lǎo bà
  1. 1 father
  2. 2 dad
偕老
xié lǎo
  1. 1 to grow old together
古老
gǔ lǎo
  1. 1 ancient
  2. 2 old
  3. 3 age-old
回老家
huí lǎo jiā
  1. 1 to go back to one's roots
  2. 2 to return to one's native place
  3. 3 by ext. to join one's ancestors (i.e. to die)
套装
tào zhuāng
  1. 1 outfit or suit (of clothes)
  2. 2 set of coordinated items
  3. 3 kit
套餐
tào cān
  1. 1 set meal
  2. 2 product or service package (e.g. for a cell phone subscription)
年老
nián lǎo
  1. 1 aged
手套
shǒu tào
  1. 1 glove
  2. 2 mitten
  3. 3 CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]
白头偕老
bái tóu xié lǎo
  1. 1 (to live together until the) white hairs of old age (idiom); to live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss
  2. 2 until death do us part
老人
lǎo rén
  1. 1 old man or woman
  2. 2 the elderly
  3. 3 one's aged parents or grandparents
老人家
lǎo rén jiā
  1. 1 polite term for old woman or man
老化
lǎo huà
  1. 1 to age (of person or object)
  2. 2 becoming old

Idioms (20)

一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥
yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu
  1. 1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤
yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng
  1. 1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
  1. 1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
  3. 3 sandwich generation
不听老人言，吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
  1. 1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
天荒地老
tiān huāng dì lǎo
  1. 1 until the end of time (idiom)
宝刀不老
bǎo dāo bù lǎo
  1. 1 lit. a good sword always remains sharp (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (of one's skills etc) to be as good as ever
  3. 3 the old man still has it
宝刀未老
bǎo dāo wèi lǎo
  1. 1 treasure knife does not age (idiom); old but still vigorous
年老力衰
nián lǎo lì shuāi
  1. 1 old and weak (idiom)
年老体弱
nián lǎo tǐ ruò
  1. 1 old and weak (idiom)
敬老尊贤
jìng lǎo zūn xián
  1. 1 to respect the wise and venerate the worthy (idiom); to honor the great and the good
活到老，学到老
huó dào lǎo , xué dào lǎo
  1. 1 One is never too old to learn. (idiom)
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
  1. 1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
狗逮老鼠
gǒu dǎi lǎo shǔ
  1. 1 lit. a dog who catches mice (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be meddlesome
白头偕老
bái tóu xié lǎo
  1. 1 (to live together until the) white hairs of old age (idiom); to live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss
  2. 2 until death do us part
白头到老
bái tóu dào lǎo
  1. 1 (to live together until the) white hairs of old age (idiom); to live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss
  2. 2 until death do us part
翻老皇历
fān lǎo huáng lì
  1. 1 to look to the past for guidance (idiom)
老大徒伤悲
lǎo dà tú shāng bēi
  1. 1 vain regrets of old age (idiom)
老天爷饿不死瞎家雀
lǎo tiān yé è bù sǐ xiā jiā què
  1. 1 lit. heaven won't let the sparrows go hungry (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. don't give up hope
  3. 3 if you tough it out, there will be light at the end of the tunnel
老婆孩子热炕头
lǎo pó hái zi rè kàng tou
  1. 1 wife, kids and a warm bed (idiom)
  2. 2 the simple and good life
老于世故
lǎo yú shì gù
  1. 1 experienced in the ways of the world (idiom); worldly-wise
  2. 2 sophisticated

Sample Sentences

你的思想太老套啦。现在无论名人还是普通老百姓有事没事都爱写写博客，这不光是抒发自己感想的好途径，也是一种新的交流方式。就算朋友之间很久没见面，通过访问对方的博客也能了解到对方的最新信息，你干吗不尝试尝试？
nǐ de sīxiǎng tài lǎotào la 。xiànzài wúlùn míngrén háishì pǔtōnglǎobǎixìng yǒushì méishì dōu ài xiěxie bókè ，zhè bùguāng shì shūfā zìjǐ gǎnxiǎng de hǎo tújìng ，yě shì yīzhǒng xīn de jiāoliú fāngshì 。jiùsuàn péngyou zhījiān hěn jiǔ méi jiànmiàn ，tōngguò fǎngwèn duìfāng de bókè yě néng liǎojiě dào duìfāng de zuìxīn xìnxī ，nǐ gànmá bù chángshì chángshì ？
Your way of thinking is too old-fashioned. These days, whether they're famous or common, and whether they have something to say or not, everyone likes to dabble in blogging. Not only is is a good way to express your own feelings, it's also a new means of exchange. Even friends who haven't seen each other for a long time can visit each other's blogs to get a better understanding of what the other is up to. Why in the world don't you give it a try?
Go to Lesson 
难道这个也是中国式作风？现在大多数求职者的简历里都会附上自己的照片，生活照或者登记照，以便让老板们在面试之前就能对自己有所印象。我当年的这种正式求职照已经算是很老套了。
nándào zhège yě shì zhōngguóshì zuòfēng ？xiànzài dàduōshù qiúzhízhě de jiǎnlì lǐ dōu huì fùshàng zìjǐ de zhàopiàn ，shēnghuózhào huòzhě dēngjìzhào ，yǐbiàn ràng lǎobǎnmen zài miànshì zhīqián jiù néng duì zìjǐ yǒusuǒ yìnxiàng 。wǒ dāngnián de zhèzhǒng zhèngshì qiúzhízhào yǐjīng suànshì hěn lǎotào le 。
Are you saying that this is also a Chinese way of doing things? These days, most job-seekers include an informal or ID photo on their resume. It's so that the managers will have some kind of an impression of you before the interview. The formal job-hunt photos I took in those days would already be considered too old-fashioned.
Go to Lesson 
可是现在再听这些名字就觉得比较土。大概因为时代发展了，名字就显得比较老套。还有用和花相关的字来命名的，现在看起来也特别地俗气，比如翠花，小红，艳艳等，都比较有乡土气。
kěshì xiànzài zài tīng zhèxiē míngzi jiù juéde bǐjiào rustic 。dàgài yīnwèi shídài fāzhǎn le ，míngzi jiù xiǎnde bǐjiào lǎotào 。hái yǒu yòng hé huā xiāngguān de zì lái mìngmíng de ，xiànzài kàn qǐlai yě tèbié de súqì ，bǐrú Cuìhuā ，Xiǎo Hóng ，Yànyan děng ，dōu bǐjiào yǒu xiāngtǔ qì 。
But these days, when we hear these names, they sound a little dowdy. It's probably because it's a different era, so those names seem pretty old-fashioned. Names that have to do with flowers also seem very rustic-- ''Green Flower,"　''Little Red," ''Bright and Beautiful," and so on. They all seem quite rural.
Go to Lesson 
唉，相声什么的多老套，都快淘汰了，和观众的互动还有现场气氛还是人家老美做得好。
ài ，xiàngsheng shénme de duō lǎotào ，dōu kuài táotài le ，hé guānzhòng de hùdòng háiyǒu xiànchǎng qìfēn háishì rénjiā lǎo Měi zuò de hǎo 。
Agh, cross-talk and stuff are so outdated; they're dying out. I think the Americans do it better in terms of audience interaction and stage presence.
Go to Lesson 
我也觉得这个题目有点老套，不过我之前接触过一些农民工，我觉得可以挖掘一下他们的精神生活。
wǒ yě juéde zhè ge tímù yǒudiǎnr lǎotào ，bùguò wǒ zhīqián jiēchù guo yīxiē nóngmíngōng ，wǒ juéde kěyǐ wājué yīxià tāmen de jīngshén shēnghuó 。
I think this subject is a little worn out as well, but I've come into contact with some migrant workers before, and I think I could dig a little deeper into how they spend their free time.
Go to Lesson 
拜托，都什么时代了，还用这么老套的台词。真俗！
bàituō ，dōu shénme shídài le ，hái yòng zhème lǎotào de táicí 。zhēn sú ！
Please... what decade are you from? You are using such old lines. How tacky!
Go to Lesson 
Go to Lesson 
是吗？我倒觉得好多广告都没什么创意。比如洗衣粉广告，永远都是一个小孩把身上弄得很脏，然后妈妈微笑着用洗衣粉帮他洗干净了。多老套！
shì ma ？wǒ dǎo juéde hǎo duō guǎnggào dōu méi shénme chuàngyì 。bǐrú xǐyīfěn guǎnggào ，yǒngyuǎn dōu shì yī ge xiǎohái bǎ shēnshang nòng de hěn zàng ，ránhòu māma wēixiào zhe yòng xǐyīfěn bāng tā xǐ gānjìng le 。duō lǎotào ！
Really? Actually, I feel like a lot of commercials don't have any creativity. For example, laundry detergent commercials are forever about a child who gets his clothes really dirty, and then the mother uses the laundry detergent to wash them clean, smiling the whole time. It's so cliche!
Go to Lesson