老调重弹

老調重彈

lǎodiàochóngtán

idiom #36,300

Meanings

1 to play the same old tune again
2 to harp on an old theme; to rehash something unoriginal

Characters

to play (a stringed instrument)

Examples

他的演讲又是老调重弹，毫无新意。

Tā de yǎnjiǎng yòu shì lǎodiàochóngtán, háo wú xīnyì.

His speech was the same old tune again, with nothing new.

这个话题已经老调重弹了，别再争了。

Zhège huàtí yǐjīng lǎodiàochóngtán le, bié zài zhēng le.

This topic has been rehashed to death — stop arguing about it.

我不想老调重弹，但是纪律问题必须再强调一次。

Wǒ bù xiǎng lǎodiàochóngtán, dànshì jìlǜ wèntí bìxū zài qiángdiào yī cì.

I don't want to replay an old tune, but the discipline issue has to be stressed once more.

Tips

mistakes

读 chóng (again), not zhòng (heavy). 重弹 = to play again — the idiom is about repetition, not weight.

usage

Almost always disapproving — a speaker, argument, or policy that keeps recycling the same tired points. For neutral 'classic' replays, prefer 经典 or 再次.

Stroke Order

老 lǎo

调 tiáo

重 zhòng

弹 dàn