Happou Bijin (八方美人 - Everybody's Friend)

A woman who tries to please everybody is called 八方美人 (happou bijin) in Japanese.

八方 (happou) means "eight directions" and 美人 (bijin) means "beautiful woman."

Here the eight directions represent "north," "northeast," "east," "southeast," "south," "southwest," "west," and "northwest," so the literal meaning of "happou bijin" is a woman who is beautiful from any direction.

However, the "bijin" implies a person with a beautiful attitude towards others, not a woman with a beautiful face.

That is to say, "happou bijin" means a person who tries to be all things to all people.

It might sound like a good meaning, but note that this term is often used in an ironic meaning.

八方美人

誰に対しても如才なくふるまう人のことを、日本語で「八方美人」と言います。

「八方」は "eight directions," 「美人」は "beautiful woman" を意味します。

ここで「八方」は「北」「北東」「東」「南東」「南」「南西」「西」「北西」のことであり、「八方美人」の文字どおりの意味は「どのほうこうから見ても欠点のない美人」です。

ただし、この「美人」は顔が美しい人という意味ではなく、他人に対する態度のことを指しています。

すなわち「八方美人」は、「誰からも好かれるように上手くふるまう人」のことを表します。

これだけ聞くと良い意味に聞こえるかもしれませんが、皮肉を込めて使われることも多いので注意して下さい。