to envy
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to envy
To have the feeling of wanting to possess or be able to do something that another person has. You feel envy toward someone because of a certain quality, possession, or situation.
Ich beneide dich um deine Fähigkeit, so gut zeichnen zu können.
I envy you for your ability to draw so well.
'Beneiden' (to envy) is an inseparable verb with the prefix 'be-'. This prefix means that the person being envied is always in the accusative, not the dative.
Ich beneide dich.
I envy you.
The structure is fixed: you envy someone (accusative) 'um' something (accusative). The preposition 'um' is the most common choice here; more rarely, 'für' or 'wegen' is also used.
Er beneidet seine Schwester um ihr musikalisches Talent.
He envies his sister for her musical talent.
Although envy is often negative, 'beneiden' (to envy) can also be meant appreciatively or admiringly. It then often expresses the wish to be in a similarly positive situation.
Ich beneide dich um deinen Mut, diese Weltreise allein zu machen!
I envy you for your courage to take this trip around the world alone!
jealous / envious
Neidisch and beneiden express the desire to have or be able to do something that another person possesses or can do. With neidisch, auf usually comes before the person or thing; beneiden takes the envied person as an accusative object and often uses um to state the reason. Otherwise, the meanings of the two words are very similar.
Ich beneide meine Schwester um ihre Fähigkeit, so gut Klavier zu spielen.
I envy my sister her ability to play the piano so well.
Ich bin neidisch auf meine Schwester, weil sie so gut Klavier spielen kann.
I am envious of my sister because she can play the piano so well.
