How to Say “I am jealous” in Chinese
Feelings and opinions · HSK 4
"I am jealous" in Chinese is 我嫉妒 (Wǒ jídù). Chinese carefully separates two kinds of jealous. 羡慕 (xiànmù) is admiring, positive 'I wish I had that too' jealousy; totally fine to say out loud.
Primary translation
我嫉妒
Wǒ jídù
Variants by register
Formal
我有点羡慕
Wǒ yǒudiǎn xiànmù
Casual
我酸了
Wǒ suān le
When to use it
Chinese carefully separates two kinds of jealous. 羡慕 (xiànmù) is admiring, positive 'I wish I had that too' jealousy; totally fine to say out loud. 嫉妒 (jídù) and 吃醋 (chīcù, literally 'eat vinegar') are the dark ones: envy that resents, or romantic jealousy. Tell a friend 我嫉妒你 and it sounds intense; 我羡慕你 is a compliment. The hottest internet slang right now is 我酸了 ('I've turned sour'); half-joking envy you type under a friend's vacation photo. 吃醋 is reserved almost exclusively for couples: 他吃醋了 = 'he's jealous (about me talking to someone else)'.
Example sentences
你去了日本？我好羡慕啊！
Nǐ qù le Rìběn? Wǒ hǎo xiànmù a!
You went to Japan? I'm so jealous!
看到他们那么恩爱，我酸了。
Kàn dào tāmen nàme ēn'ài, wǒ suān le.
Seeing how in love they are, I'm jealous.
别吃醋，她只是我同事。
Bié chīcù, tā zhǐshì wǒ tóngshì.
Don't be jealous, she's just my coworker.