眼红 (yǎn hóng) — jealous; envious (colloquial) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Colloquial 'jealous / envious' — the everyday word for coveting what others have (money, success, possessions). Lighter and more common than 贪, which implies greedy character; different from 气愤, which is about anger at wrongdoing.

adjective

jealousenvious (colloquial)

Examples

眼红，。
Tā zǒng kàn dào bié rén zhuàn qián jiù yǎn hóng, què bù kěn zì jǐ nǔ lì.
He always gets jealous when he sees others making money, but he won't work hard himself.
眼红，。
Nǐ bú yào yǎn hóng bié rén de xīn fáng zi, nǐ yě kě yǐ mǎi.
Don't be jealous of others' new house; you can buy one too.
，眼红。
Kàn dào tóng shì shēng zhí, tā rěn bú zhù yǎn hóng le.
When he saw his colleague get promoted, he couldn't help being jealous.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

When 眼 turns 红, the image expresses envy or anger.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

目艮眼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn眼yǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng紅hóng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.