jealous / envious
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jealous / envious
Feeling envy; wanting to have or be able to do something that another person has or can do. Often connected with resentment.
Sie war neidisch auf den Erfolg ihrer Kollegin.
She was jealous of her colleague's success.
The adjective 'neidisch' (jealous/envious) belongs to the noun 'der Neid' (envy). If you know the noun, you can easily figure out the meaning of the adjective.
Sein Neid auf den Kollegen war für alle offensichtlich.
His envy of his colleague was obvious to everyone.
'Neidisch' (jealous/envious) is almost always used with the preposition 'auf' and the accusative. The structure is: Person A ist neidisch auf Person B or a thing.
Ich bin ein bisschen neidisch auf dein neues Fahrrad.
I'm a little jealous of your new bike.
A common action connected with this feeling is wanting to 'jemanden neidisch machen' (make someone jealous/envious). The adjective is often softened or intensified by adverbs like 'heimlich' (secretly), 'ein bisschen' (a little), or 'ziemlich' (quite).
Er postete Urlaubsfotos, nur um seine Freunde neidisch zu machen.
He posted vacation photos just to make his friends jealous.
jealous
Neidisch and eifersüchtig can both describe a negative reaction to something another person has or does. Eifersüchtig refers specifically to fear of losing the affection of someone you love; neidisch refers to something you want to possess or be able to do. The key distinction is therefore a relationship versus possessions or abilities.
Lena ist neidisch auf ihre Freundin, weil diese das begehrte Stipendium bekommen hat.
Lena is envious of her friend because her friend received the coveted scholarship.
Lena ist eifersüchtig auf ihre Freundin, weil diese ihrem Partner sehr nahekommt.
Lena is jealous of her friend because her friend is getting very close to her partner.
