The Chinese idiom **陈词滥调 (chén cí làn diào)** is formed through a parallel and metaphorical structure where **陈 (chén)**, meaning "old" or "stale," modifies **词 (cí)**, meaning "words," and **滥 (làn)**, meaning "excessive" or "worn-out," modifies **调 (diào)**, meaning "tune" or "tone." The two parallel phrases **陈词** ("stale words") and **滥调** ("hackneyed tunes") combine to create a single, powerful compound that metaphorically criticizes any expression—whether speech, writing, or ideas—that is trite, unoriginal, and repeated to the point of being meaningless.