[Vocabulary] for ages vs. a while

[CarloSsS]

Hello everybody,
I have a simple question. Is there any difference between these two sentences?:

I haven't seen him for ages.

and

I haven't seen him for a while.

Both of them should mean "I haven't seen him for a long time", but I was told by one non-native speaker that the first sentence sounds like a cliché, or maybe less natural than the other one. What do you think?

 

[Rover_KE]

They are both natural.

To me, for ages means for a longer time than for a while.

Rover

 

[SoothingDave]

A "while" is usually relatively short. "Wait here a while until the doctor is ready to see you."


A "long while" exists, but "ages" is still even longer than a long while.

 

[CarloSsS]

And does "I haven't seen him for ages" sound as a cliché to you?

 

[SoothingDave]

There's nothing wrong with a cliche, used in moderation.

 

[CarloSsS]

I think that there's nothing wrong with a clichés if you don't overuse them.
So I gather that it is a cliché, am I right?

 

[SoothingDave]

I would say that it is an expression.