(jí dù) - to envy, to be jealous of; jealousy in Mandarin
jídùTraditional: 嫉妒
Translation
to envy, to be jealous of; jealousy
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Word origin
Both characters are phono-semantic compounds built on 女 (nǚ, woman): 嫉 is 女 plus 疾 (jí, illness, phonetic) and 妒 is 女 plus 户 (hù, phonetic).
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 嫉 (女 + 疾, jí phonetic) + 妒 (女 + 户, phonetic)
Stroke order
嫉
妒
Examples
。
He is very jealous of my new job.
。
Do not envy other people.
语。
There was a hint of envy in her tone.
。
Jealousy can damage the feeling between friends.
。
I admit it, I am a little jealous of him.
嫉妒 (jí dù) is the resentful kind of envy: you want what someone else has and you rather resent them for having it. It works as a verb (他嫉妒我) and as a noun (他的嫉妒), with no change of form.
Note that it takes a direct object with no preposition. English needs "jealous of", Mandarin does not: 他嫉妒我的车 is he is jealous of my car, and slipping a 对 in front sounds wrong.
The trap is that English "jealous" also covers the harmless, admiring kind of envy, the one you say to a friend who is off to Spain. That is not 嫉妒, which is genuinely negative and accusatory. For the light version say 羡慕 (xiàn mù) instead, or you will land a compliment as an insult.
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Mandarin · Free printables
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Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "嫉妒" (to envy, to be jealous of; jealousy): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free week (no card)This word is taught in chapter 27, lesson 2: 嫉妒, 局 and 8 more words.