cliché

See also: cliche, clichê, and cliche'

English

Alternative forms

• cliche

Etymology

Borrowed from French cliché.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkliːʃeɪ/
• Rhymes: -iːʃeɪ
• (US) enPR: klē-shāʹ, IPA^(key): /kliːˈʃeɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ

Noun

cliché (plural clichés)

1. Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A trite saying; a platitude. [from 19th c.]

   Synonyms: platitude, stereotype; see also Thesaurus:saying

   The villain kidnapping the love interest in a film is a bit of a cliché.

   I know it's a bit of a cliché, but love really does conquer all.

2. (printing) A stereotype (printing plate).

Usage notes

• The alternative spelling cliche may be used without confusion, as there is no other word in English with this spelling. (Contrast résumé, resumé.)

Derived terms

• clichéd
• tired cliché

Related terms

• click

Translations

overused phrase or expression

• Catalan: clixé m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陳詞濫調 (zh), 陈词滥调 (zh) (chéncílàndiào), 老生常談 (zh), 老生常谈 (zh) (lǎoshēngchángtán), 老套 (zh) (lǎotào)

• Czech: klišé (cs) n
• Dutch: cliché (nl) n, gemeenplaats (nl) f, platitude (nl) f
• Esperanto: kliŝo (eo)
• Finnish: klisee (fi), latteus (fi)
• French: cliché (fr) m
• Galician: cliché (gl) m
• Georgian: კლიშე (ḳliše)
• German: Klischee (de) n, Gemeinplatz (de) m, Stereotyp (de) n
• Greek: κλισέ (el) n (klisé), στερεότυπο (el) n (stereótypo)
• Hebrew: קלישאה‎ (he) f (qlišaa)
• Hungarian: klisé (hu), közhely (hu)
• Icelandic: klisja (is) f, tugga f (rare), gömul tugga f
• Ido: klishuro (io)
• Indonesian: klise (id)
• Italian: cliché (it) m

• Japanese: 決まり文句 (kimari monku)
• Latin: platitudo f
• Malay: klise
• Norwegian: klisjé (no) n
• Occitan: cliché (oc) m, ponciu m, lòc comun
• Persian: کلیشه‎ (fa) (kliše)
• Polish: frazes (pl) m, komunał (pl) m, banał (pl) m, sztampa f
• Portuguese: clichê (pt) m, lugar-comum m, chavão (pt) m, platitude (pt) f
• Romanian: clișeu (ro) n
• Russian: клише́ (ru) n (klišé), штамп (ru) m (štamp)
• Serbo-Croatian: kliše (sh) m
• Slovak: fráza f
• Spanish: cliché (es) m, clisé (es) m, tópico (es) m
• Swedish: kliché (sv) c, klyscha (sv) c
• Tagalog: gasgas
• Turkish: klişe (tr)
• Vietnamese: sáo ngữ (vi)
• Welsh: ystrydeb f

anything (other than a phrase) that is overused

• Catalan: clixé m
• Esperanto: kliŝo (eo)
• Finnish: klisee (fi)
• French: platitude (fr), lieu commun (fr)
• Galician: cliché (gl) m
• German: Klischee (de) n
• Greek: στερεότυπο (el) n (stereótypo)
• Hebrew: קלישאה‎ (he) f
• Ido: klishuro (io)

• Indonesian: klise (id)
• Portuguese: clichê (pt) m
• Russian: клише́ (ru) n (klišé), штамп (ru) m (štamp)
• Serbo-Croatian: kliše (sh) m
• Spanish: tópico (es) m
• Tagalog: gasgas
• Turkish: klişe (tr)
• Welsh: ystrydeb f

Adjective

cliché (comparative more cliché, superlative most cliché)

1. (proscribed) clichéd; having the characteristics of a cliché

Verb

cliché (third-person singular simple present clichés, present participle clichéing, simple past and past participle clichéd or (rare) clichéed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To use a cliché; to make up a word or a name that sounds like a cliché.
   • 2015, Huping Ling, Allan W. Austin, Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia

     While most of these small, family-owned eateries were mired in drab décor and had clichéd names like Golden Wok or China Gate, they made up for the kitsch with inexpensive prices.

   • 2015, Shonda Rhimes, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person

     He clichéd at me. He clichéd at me in a perky, condescending tone.

Anagrams

• chicle

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French cliché.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kliˈʃeː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cli‧ché
• Rhymes: -eː

Noun

cliché n (plural clichés, diminutive clichétje n)

1. A cliché.
2. An unoriginal work.
3. A printing plate, a stereotype.

Derived terms

• clichématig

Descendants

• Afrikaans: cliché
• → Indonesian: klise

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French

Etymology

Past participle of clicher (“to stereotype, (originally) to copy”, literally “to click, clink”), from Middle French clicher, from Old French cliquer (“to click, clack, sound, resound”), of Germanic origin, related to Dutch klikken (“to click, rattle”), Low German klikken (“to click”), German klicken (“to click”), Danish klikke (“to click”), Swedish klicka (“to click”). Probably onomatopoeic, and probably influenced by Middle High German klitsch (“soft, pulpy mass”), from the old technique of creating a printing plate. More at click.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kli.ʃe/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

cliché m (plural clichés)

1. (printing) stereotype (printing plate)

   La reproduction dans la presse de dessins et de photographies se fait au moyen de clichés typographiques.

   The reproduction in the press of drawings and photographs is done by means of typographical clichés.

2. (photography) negative
3. (by extension) snapshot

   prendre un cliché ― take a snapshot

4. (figuratively) cliché; stereotype (overused phrase or expression)

   Synonyms: banalité, idée reçue, lieu commun, stéréotype

Descendants

• → Catalan: clixé
• → Czech: klišé
• → Danish: kliché, kliche
• → English: cliché
• → Estonian: klišee
• → Finnish: klisee
• → Galician: clixé
• → German: Klischee
• → Hungarian: klisé
• → Icelandic: klisja
• → Macedonian: клише́ (klišé)
• → Portuguese: clichê
• → Russian: клише́ (klišé)
• → Serbo-Croatian: klìšē/клѝше̄
• → Slovak: klišé
• → Slovene: kliše
• → Spanish: cliché
• → Turkish: klişe

Further reading

• “cliché”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Italian

Alternative forms

• cliscè

Etymology

Borrowed from French cliché.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kliʃˈʃɛ/^**, /kliʃˈʃe/^**
• Rhymes: -ɛ, -e

Noun

cliché m (invariable)

1. plate (printing)
2. cliché

Anagrams

• lecchi

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Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French cliché.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kliˈʂɛ/
• Rhymes: -iʂɛ
• Syllabification: cli‧ché

Noun

cliché n

1. cliché

Declension

Indeclinable.

Further reading

• cliché in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• cliché in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Spanish

Alternative forms

• clisé

Etymology

Borrowed from French cliché.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kliˈt͡ʃe/, [kliˈt͡ʃe]

Noun

cliché m (plural clichés)

1. (printing) cliché
2. (talking) cliché

Anagrams

• chicle

Further reading

• “cliché”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014