磁带

• Pinyin: cí dài
• Hanzi breakdown: 磁 = 石 (stone) + 兹 (phonetic, magnetic); 带 = 帚 + 巾 (belt, tape)

Meaning

Magnetic tape; cassette tape. A recording medium using magnetic coating on a plastic strip, once common for audio and video.

Refers to both audio cassettes and reel-to-reel tape. While largely obsolete for consumer use, still referenced when discussing retro technology, data backup, or nostalgia for 80s-90s culture.

Examples

1. 小时候我们都是用磁带听歌，一盘好磁带能反复听上几百遍。 When we were kids, we all listened to music on cassette tapes — a good tape could be played hundreds of times over.
2. 爸爸的书房里还保留着一箱老磁带，都是他年轻时收集的音乐。 Dad still has a box of old cassette tapes in his study, all music he collected when he was young.
3. 虽然现在都用数字存储了，但有些档案馆还在用磁带备份重要数据。 Although digital storage is the norm now, some archives still use magnetic tape to back up important data.

Usage Guide

Context: technology, nostalgia, audio

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 你还记得以前用磁带录歌的日子吗？(Do you remember the days of recording songs on cassette tapes?)
• 这些老磁带里存着我年轻时最爱的歌。(These old tapes hold my favorite songs from when I was young.)

Don't Say

• 我用磁带听网易云音乐 (Cassette tapes can't play streaming services — that's a technology mismatch)

Origin & History

Compound of 磁 (magnetic) + 带 (tape, strip). Literally 'magnetic strip,' describing its physical composition.

Cultural Context

Era: 1980s-2000s

Generation: Adults 30+

Social background: Universal