Simpaticón

[poli]

I wonder if there is an English equivalent for this term. I can think of
superficially nice or maybe ingratiating--but ingratiating isn't always negative. Is it?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

I wonder if there is an English equivalent for this term. I can think of
superficially nice or maybe ingratiating--but ingratiating isn't always negative. Is it?

to ingratiate means, or meant, to render oneself agreeable.
On the surface, that sounds nice, but I thought nowadays it always had the negative connotation of being superficially nice to attain some aim, or just being a creep.

[poli]

Ingratiating to me is being nice for opportunistic reasons--like a salesman or even a job applicant. Maybe this isn't the most positive thing, but most of us use ingratiation at times as a means of survival.

I think a simpaticón is a person who is habitually ingratiating, and that's horrible. I don't think there is a simple term in English for it unless it's hightone like sycophant.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by poli

Ingratiating to me is being nice for opportunistic reasons--like a salesman or even a job applicant. Maybe this isn't the most positive thing, but most of us use ingratiation at times as a means of survival.

I think a simpaticón is a person who is habitually ingratiating, and that's horrible. I don't think there is a simple term in English for it unless it's hightone like sycophant.

Correct.

But in Chile we also use the term simpaticón for a person who's not completely simpático. Más o menos simpático.

[aleCcowaN]

Could it be "nicish"?

About ingratiating ("amabilidad comercial", "querer caer simpático").

Hacerse el simpático
Hacerse el simpaticón = Intentar hacerse el simpático y no lograrlo o quedar muy falso.

[poli]

Nice-ish is close. To me nice-ish means someone behaving is a simpático manner, but the decision as to whether they are really nice is unclear.

When I first saw the word simpaticón, the decision seems to have been
made that the person is self-servinglyly obsequious. There is no simple word for that in English to my knowledge--although nice-ish is close.

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by poli

Nice-ish is close. To me nice-ish means someone behaving is a simpático manner, but the decision as to whether they are really nice is unclear.

That's an excellent definition of simpaticón. When there is a reason for suspicion, then simpaticón becomes something between the lamb skin wore by the wolf and "looking nice but I'm not 100% convinced".