Chinese word

妒忌

Pronunciation

Pinyindù jì

Meaning

  • verbenvy

Example

不要因为别人有钱就妒忌他们。bú yào yīn wèi bié rén yǒu qián jiù dù jì tā men

Don't envy them just because they are rich.

Illustration for 妒忌 (envy)

More examples

看到同事被表扬，她忍不住妒忌起来。kàn dào tóng shì bèi biǎo yáng tā rěn bú zhù dù jì qǐ lái

Seeing her colleague praised, she could not help feeling envious.

Core concept

A person's attention stays fixed on someone else's reward, pulled toward the reward and pushed against its owner.

Common phrases

  • 感到妒忌gǎn dào dù jì

    feel envious

  • 心生妒忌xīn shēng dù jì

    become envious

  • 对别人妒忌duì bié rén dù jì

    envy others

Similar words

嫉妒jí dù: Feeling jealous and upset about another person's happiness, success, or good qualities.
羡慕xiàn mù: Admiring another person's ability or advantages and wishing to have them too.
吃醋chī cù: Feeling uneasy or angry when a romantic partner shows interest in someone else.

Definition in Chinese

因别人拥有某种好处或成就而心生不平，既希望自己也有又不愿别人拥有的情绪。yīn bié rén yōng yǒu móu zhǒng hǎo chù huò chéng jiù ér xīn shēng bù píng jì xī wàng zì jǐ yě yǒu yòu bú yuàn bié rén yōng yǒu de qíng xù

Word origin

The compound joins 妒 (dù, "envy") with 忌 (jì, "begrudge"), linking desire for another person's benefit with resistance to that person having it.

Usage tips

  • The person who has the advantage commonly appears as the verb's object, while the advantage can be supplied separately, helping distinguish the target of the feeling from its cause.

Other meanings

  • jealousynoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 妒忌心dù jì xīnenvynoun
  • 妒忌感dù jì gǎnfeeling of envynoun

Word lists with this word