Used as a prefix before nouns to mean 'complete' or 'total', often in casual or emphatic expressions.
I was embarrassed by the total praise.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
plaintext
Computing term for unformatted text, as opposed to rich text or HTML.
Please send the email in plain text.
solid printing; solid typesetting
Abbreviation of ベタ組み; printing term for setting type without spacing or indentation.
See also: ベタ組み
Abbreviation of ベタ焼き; photography term for a print made by placing the negative directly on the paper.
See also: ベタ焼き
I painted the background solid before drawing the picture.
I plastered posters all over the wall.
Fill in the background with a solid coat of paint.
It's frustrating to lose completely.
That punchline was too clichéd to be funny.
It's a predictable plot, but I end up watching it anyway.
This page is set solid.
First make a contact print, then choose which ones to enlarge.
That drama was full of clichéd plot developments.
That punchline was so clichéd it wasn't even funny.
ありがち means 'typical, all-too-common' in a general sense, while べた specifically flags something as a hackneyed comedic or narrative device.
べた is the plain, non-reduplicated form meaning 'solid' or 'clichéd', while ベタベタ is the doubled mimetic form that emphasizes ongoing stickiness, heavy coating, or clinginess.
This ベタ (the fish) is a separate homograph from the common ベタ meaning 'flat/uniform' or 'clichéd', so context is needed to tell them apart.
Standard hiragana spelling; no kanji form exists.
Katakana spelling is common, especially in casual or technical contexts.
The origin is uncertain; it may be related to the mimetic word べったり (sticky, clinging) suggesting something dense or covering completely. The katakana form ベタ is common in modern usage.