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觊觎 (jì yú) — (formal, derogatory) to covet, to eye greedily (something one is not entitled to)

Definition

A formal, written verb meaning 'to covet' — always implies greed for something one does not deserve (a position, resource, or territory). Strongly negative in tone, unlike neutral 'want'.

verb
(formal, derogatory) to covetto eye greedily (something one is not entitled to)

Examples

  • 觊觎。
    Tā yì zhí jì yú nà ge jīng lǐ de wèi zhì.
    He has always coveted that manager position.
  • 觊觎。
    Lín guó jì yú zhè ge dì qū de zī yuán yǐ yǒu duō nián.
    The neighboring country has coveted the resources of this region for years.
  • 觊觎。
    jì yú Tā rén de cái chǎn zhōng jiū bú huì yǒu hǎo jié guǒ.
    Coveting another's property will not end well in the end.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

觊jì
觎yú

The characters 觊 and 觎 carry no separate meaning here; together they name coveting greedily.

Sound-only characters

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 覬; 觊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànto see
Sound part声符shēngfú
豈
豈qǐ覬jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覬 pairs 見 (to see) with 豈 for sound; the simplified 觊 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

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 覦; 觎 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànto see
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú覦yú
Same sound today

The traditional form 覦 has 見, meaning to see, and 俞, which shows the sound; 觎 is a later simplified form.

Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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