xiàn

to envy

sheep (羊) + drooling longing (次) = to envy

The image is of someone drooling (次 can evoke saliva or a secondary, lesser position) at the sight of a fine sheep — the ultimate desirable thing. To envy is to salivate over what belongs to another.

+
NextSemantic
SheepSemantic

他很慕我有一只小狗。

tā hěn xiàn mù wǒ yǒu yī zhī xiǎo gǒu。

He envies me for having a little dog.

慕邻居家的孩子学习很好。

tā xiàn mù lín jū jiā de hái zi xué xí hěn hǎo。

She envies the neighbor's child for doing very well in school.

Words with 羡

临川羡鱼

lín chuān xiàn yú

see 臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]

临河羡鱼

lín hé xiàn yú

see 臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]

惊羡

jīng xiàn

to marvel at

临渊羡鱼

lín yuān xiàn yú

see 臨淵羨魚,不如退而結網|临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网[lin2 yuan1 xian4 yu2 , bu4 ru2 tui4 er2 jie2 wang3]

倾羡

qīng xiàn

to admire

奇羡

jī xiàn

surplus

季羡林

jì xiàn lín

Ji Xianlin (1911-2009), Chinese linguist and Indologist

临渊羡鱼,不如退而结网

lín yuān xiàn yú , bù rú tuì ér jié wǎng

better to go home and weave a net than to stand by the pond longing for fish (idiom)

心羡

xīn xiàn

to admire

忌羡

jì xiàn

to envy

钦羡

qīn xiàn

to admire

羡慕

xiàn mù

to envy

More characters with 羊