1.
favoritism, patronage, special support
Showing special favor or support to a particular person, team, or establishment. Can refer to both unfair favoritism and positive patronage.
贔屓のチームが勝った。
My favorite team won.
先生があの生徒を贔屓している。
The teacher is playing favorites with that student.
いつもご贔屓いただき、ありがとうございます。
Thank you for your continued patronage.
Polite business expression
贔屓の引き倒しにならないように気をつけて。
Be careful not to do more harm than good by being overly supportive.
Idiomatic expression
The kanji 贔屓 are rarely written; hiragana is very common.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 贔屓にする: to patronize, to favor
- 贔屓のお店: one's favorite shop
- 贔屓のチーム: one's favorite team
- ご贔屓に: please continue to patronize us (business)
IDIOM:
- 贔屓の引き倒し: doing more harm than good by being overly supportive
NUANCE:
When used about one's own favorites, it's positive (patronage, support). When used about others showing favoritism, it can be negative (unfair bias).