木村：今度僕の課に美人の新入社員が入ったよ。
田中：それじゃ皆にチヤホヤされてるでしょう。
Chiyahoya Sareru
Kimura: Kondo boku no ka ni bijin no shinnyuu shain ga haitta yo.
Tanaka: Sore ja mtnna ni chiyahoya sareteru deshoo.
Mr. Kimura: The other day a cute new girj entered the section I'm in.
Mr. Tanaka: So she must be being fussed over by everyone then.
* * *
Chiyahoya suru means to flatter, indulge and generally pay special attention to someone. Its passive from is chiyahoya sareru.
With the men in the office lavishing all this attention upon the new girl, the other women in the section have become extremely jealous - "Ano hito bakari chiyahoya sarete" ("Making such a fuss over just her") and one finally even says to the men directly "Kanojo bakari chiyahoya shinai de kudasai" ("Please don't pay so much attention just to her"). It seems people have a tendency to lose sight of reality when they are made much of by others (ta no hito kara chiyahoya sareru). Let's hope this new girl doesn't end up like that.
In the children's story Shookoojo no Seera, since the heroine's wealthy, mine-owning father donates a lot of money to a certain school, koochoo senseitachi kara chiyahoya sareta (he is lionized by the school directors). When he dies suddenly, however, the school turns around and begins to treat his daughter Seera as a mere servant-girl. Having seen early on in life how people have both good and evil sides, Seera is bound to become the sort of wise adult who sees right through a person to their very core.
Two more examples:
(l) A coupld are not blessed with the birth of their first child until they've been married for 20 years. Imagine their surprise! And thinking the child must be a gift from God, they try to raise it with special care. In the end, however, since they pamper the child so much (amari chiyahoya sodaterareta node), it gradually becomes spoiled. I guess children are best raised surrounded by brothers and sisters they can play and fool around with?
(2) The eldest boy is three and had had a monopoly on his parents affection...until his younger brother was born last week. The three-year-old is full of jealousy: "Ryooshin wa otooto ni bakari chiyahoya suru" ("Mommy and Daddy pay attention only to my little brother"). Any smart mother, of course, will understand the three-year-old's feelings and make efforts to be especially affectionate toward him. Brothers and sisters. Cain and Able. King Lear's daughters. Cinderella. We all sometimes fight with those closest to us.
Finally - though my examples have been mostly about women and children, aren't there also many men of little talent pampered over and made much of by others?