[Japanese Idioms by Flashcards]
八方美人
“a beauty in eight directions”
(one who tries to please everyone, one who seeks popularity at the expense of integrity)
Happo means eight directions. Bijin literally means a beautiful woman. A person who wants to look attractive in eight different directions is a person trying too hard to please everyone, thus revealing a lack of integrity.
Sample text:
(Style: spoken/casual (blunt)/male)
A: Akio no yatsu, kyooryoku shite kureru tte. Saisho wa iya da tte itta n da kedo sa.
B: Iya, aitsu wa happoo bijin da kara, ate ni naranai yo.
A: 昭男のやつ、協力してくれるって。最初はいやだって言ったんだけどさ。
B: いや、あいつは八方美人だから、あてにならないよ。
A: Akio says he’ll help us. He said he didn’t want to at first, though.
B: Well, he’s the type who tries to please everyone, so you really can’t count on him.
Japanese Idioms
