Vijana wengi wanaojifunza Kiingereza hupata shida kutofautisha maneno 'selfish' na 'greedy'. Ingawa yanafanana kwa maana, kuna tofauti muhimu. 'Selfish' ina maana ya kujali sana mahitaji na hisia zako mwenyewe bila kuzingatia wengine. 'Greedy' kwa upande mwingine, ina maana ya kutaka kupata vitu vingi zaidi kuliko unavyohitaji, hasa mali au chakula. Mtu mwenye 'selfish' anaweza kutokujali hisia za wengine, wakati mtu 'greedy' anaweza kuwa na tamaa kubwa ya vitu vya kimwili.

Mfano wa 'selfish':

Kiingereza: It was selfish of him to eat all the cake without offering any to his friends. Kiswahili: Ilikuwa ni ubinafsi wake kula keki yote bila kuwapatia marafiki zake.

Mfano mwingine wa 'selfish':

Kiingereza: She was being selfish by refusing to share her toys. Kiswahili: Alikuwa na ubinafsi kwa kukataa kushiriki vinyago vyake.

Mfano wa 'greedy':

Kiingereza: He's so greedy; he always wants more food. Kiswahili: Yeye ni mchoyo sana; daima anataka chakula zaidi.

Mfano mwingine wa 'greedy':

Kiingereza: The greedy king hoarded all the gold in the kingdom. Kiswahili: Mfalme mchoyo alikusanya dhahabu yote katika ufalme.

Kwa kifupi, 'selfish' inahusu kujali nafsi tu, wakati 'greedy' inahusu tamaa ya vitu vya kimwili. Kunaweza kuwa na kuingiliana kati ya sifa hizi mbili, lakini sio lazima ziwe sawa. Happy learning!