眼红

• Pinyin: yǎn hóng
• Hanzi breakdown: 眼 = 目 (eye) + 艮 (firm/stop — the eye fixed in a steady gaze); 红 = 糸 (silk/thread) + 工 (work — originally a reddish-pink dyed silk)

Meaning

Envious; jealous; covetous. Eyes red with envy or desire upon seeing another's good fortune or possessions. Also literally: red-eyed from crying or fatigue.

Used to express strong envy or covetousness: 看得眼红 (to look on with envy), 眼红别人的成功 (envious of someone else's success). In contexts of conflict, can also suggest bloodshot eyes from anger — 杀红了眼 (red-eyed with killing frenzy). The figurative jealousy usage is far more common in modern speech.

Examples

1. 邻居刚买了一辆豪车停在门口，引得附近不少人眼红，背后议论纷纷，猜测他究竟是靠什么发的家。 When the neighbor parked his newly bought luxury car out front, it made plenty of people nearby jealous, and they gossiped behind his back, guessing how he’d gotten rich.
2. 在高度竞争的娱乐圈里，一旦某位新人突然爆红，往往会有人眼红而散布各种未经证实的负面信息来打压对方。 In the highly competitive entertainment industry, when a newcomer suddenly blows up, it’s common for jealous people to spread unverified negative rumors to try to bring them down.
3. 她对同事所获得的荣誉奖项感到眼红，但这种情绪反而激励她更加刻苦地投入到自己的研究工作中去。 She felt jealous of the honors her colleague received, but that emotion pushed her to throw herself even more diligently into her own research.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, social dynamics, interpersonal, figurative

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 看到昔日同学个个功成名就，他心里难免有些眼红，但这种情绪也让他重新审视自己的职业规划，决心做出改变。(Seeing his former classmates all achieving success and recognition, he could not help feeling a twinge of envy deep down, but this feeling also prompted him to re-examine his own career plans and resolve to make changes.)
• 市场上这款产品的销量一路飙升，竞争对手眼红之余开始加快推出同类产品，整个行业的创新节奏由此明显加速。(As this product's sales soared in the market, competitors, green with envy, began to accelerate the launch of similar products, noticeably quickening the pace of innovation across the entire industry.)

Don't Say

• 他眼红了因为哭泣 — while 眼红 can mean physically red eyes, the literal cause should be described more naturally as 他哭得眼睛都红了; 眼红 alone as a standalone adjective primarily conveys envy in modern usage and may cause misunderstanding without context

Origin & History

眼 (eye — 目 eye + 艮 firm/hard gaze) + 红 (red — 糸 silk + 工 work, originally a pinkish-red color) — the reddening of eyes from intense emotion such as envy, crying, or rage

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal