很多人觉得envy和jealousy这两个词意思差不多,都是“嫉妒”的意思。但其实它们之间存在着细微却重要的差别。Envy通常指对别人拥有的东西或成就感到羡慕,并渴望拥有同样的东西;而jealousy则更侧重于对别人可能抢走自己拥有的东西或人产生的恐惧和不安,是一种更具保护性的情绪。简单来说,envy是“羡慕”,jealousy是“嫉妒”。
让我们来看一些例句来更清晰地理解它们的区别:
Envy: I envy your beautiful new car. (我羡慕你漂亮的新车。) This sentence expresses a desire for the car, not a feeling of threat.
Jealousy: He was jealous of his brother's success. (他嫉妒他哥哥的成功。) This sentence implies a fear that his brother's success might somehow diminish his own.
再来看几个例子:
Envy: I envy her ability to speak fluent French. (我羡慕她流利说法语的能力。) Here, the focus is on the desired skill.
Jealousy: She felt a pang of jealousy when she saw her boyfriend talking to another girl. (当她看到她男朋友和另一个女孩说话时,她感到一阵嫉妒。) This shows possessiveness and insecurity.
需要注意的是,这两个词的界限有时会比较模糊,在一些语境下它们可以互换使用,但理解其细微差别能帮助你更准确地表达自己的意思,使你的英语表达更加地道。
Happy learning!