Source: China Daily
When it comes to "jealousy," we usually use jealousy and envy to mean it. But when to use jealousy, when to use envy? Do you understand the difference between the two?
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When your partner tells you their ex, whom they haven’t seen in years, is coming to town, you graciously offer to host them for dinner. After hours of witnessing their obvious chemistry on full display, you start to feel a little ill at ease—which you’d most likely describe as jealousy, rather than envy.
If your partner tells you that your ex, whom you haven't seen in years, is passing by here, you're kind enough to have a dinner party. After hours in a row of witnessing their sparkling chemistry, you start to feel a little uneasy, and you'll call this psychology jealousy instead of envy.
As Merriam-Webster explains, that’s because we usually use the word jealousy to describe the worry that someone is coming for what’s yours. Envy, on the other hand, refers to the opposite scenario: when you want something that belongs to someone else.
According to merriam-Webster Dictionary, this is because we usually use the word jewelry to describe worrying that someone will take your stuff. Envy means the opposite: you want to get something that belongs to someone else.
But it’s not quite that simple. For one thing, jealousy can also function as a synonym for envy. If your neighbor owns an extremely valuable Beanie Baby collection, and you famously love Beanie Babies, you might say you’re envious of your neighbor—or, you might say you’re jealous.
But specifically, it's not that simple. On the one hand, jealousy can be used as a synonym for envy. If your neighbor has a particularly precious collection of beanie dolls, and you are notoriously fond of beanie dolls, you can say that you feel indecent to your neighbors, or you can say that you feel jealous.
Furthermore, as Psychology Today points out, jealousy is often accompanied by envy. Or rather, it’s envy that sometimes causes you to become jealous. Say, for example, your recently engaged best friend asks you to be her maid-of-honor. Over the course of several wedding-related events, you realize that your best friend seems to be favoring one of her bridesmaids—an exceptionally glamorous, wealthy, thoughtful, and seemingly perfect newer friend—over you. So you start to feel jealous. The reason for your jealousy, however, is because you envy this woman’s qualities, and you envy the attention she’s getting from your best friend.
On the other hand, as psychology today magazine points out, jealousy and envy often go hand in hand. Or rather, envy can sometimes make you jealousy. For example, your newly engaged friend asks you to be her bridesmaid. In the process of dealing with wedding-related matters, you realize that your friend seems to prefer another bridesmaid, a charming, wealthy and thoughtful new friend who seems perfect. So you start to feel jealousy. You feel jealousy because you feel envy about the traits this woman possesses and the attention she gets from your friends.
In other words, jealousy is more readily associated with territoriality, rivalry, and/or betrayal than envy is. But if you unpack the situation a little, you might find envy there, too.
In other words, jealousy is more associated with territorial awareness, competition, and betrayal than envy. But if you know a little bit about the situation, you will find that there is also an envy component in it.
Source: Mental Floss
Translator & Editor: Dani