noun
hackneyed expression; cliché; stock phrase
Refers to a phrase or expression that is overused and lacks originality, often used in writing or speech.
彼のスピーチは常套語ばかりで退屈だった。
His speech was boring because it was full of clichés.
文章に常套語を使うと、表現が陳腐に感
Using stock phrases in writing makes the expression feel trite.
陳腐 is an adjective meaning 'stale' or 'trite', describing the quality of an expression, whereas 常套語 is the noun for the hackneyed phrase itself.
Compound of 常套 (じょうとう, 'conventional, routine') and 語 (ご, 'word, language'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has been used to describe overused expressions in literary and rhetorical contexts.