羡慕 (xiàn mù) — to admire, to envy (someone's qualities, posses… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

羡慕 is to envy or admire what someone else has, often blending a wish you had it too. Unlike 佩服 and 敬佩 (pure admiration for ability/character), 羡慕 carries a sense of longing.

verb

to admireto envy (someone's qualities, possessions, or situation)

Examples

羡慕。
Wǒ hěn xiàn mù nǐ de gōng zuò.
I really admire your job.
羡慕。
Dà jiā dōu xiàn mù tā xué xí zhè me hǎo.
Everyone admires him for studying so well.
羡慕。
Wǒ xiàn mù tā yǒu zhè yàng de hǎo jī huì.
I envy her having such a good opportunity.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

慕mùadmire

羡 (envy) and 慕 (admire) combine to mean to envy or admire.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 羨; 羡 is its simplified writing.

羊羊yángsheep
㳄㳄㳄saliva

The traditional form 羨 combines 羊 (sheep) and 㳄 (saliva) to express envy; the different form 羡 is not the one whose parts are explained.

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

莫㣺慕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

㣺Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

莫

莫mò慕mù

Same sound today

慕 combines 莫 for the sound with the lower 㣺, a form of 心 (heart).

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Emotions & Feelings

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