Envy vs Jealousy - Difference and Comparison

Envy vs Jealousy

The main difference between envy and jealousy is that envy is an emotion related to coveting what someone else has, whereas jealousy is the emotion related to fear that something you have will be taken away by someone else.

Comparison chart

Improve this chart	Envy	Jealousy
Definition:	Envy is the emotion when you want something that someone else has.	Jealousy is the emotion when you fear something or someone might be taken away from you.
Example:	I'm envious of his car / her clothes.	It makes me jealous when she/he calls my partner up in the middle of the night.

edit Related Articles

Comments: Envy vs Jealousy

Comment anonymously

Anonymous comments

I guess for years I've mis-understood the difference. I always thought envy was a "mild" thing. Like being envious because Micheal Jordan could jump so high, or that your friend had such a nice house. Where Jealousy was a similar but "worse" thing, where you're feelings were to the point of being resentful.
75.93.129.237 on 2012-04-17 21:28:56

Jealousy is a feeling one feels towards another person, not an object. You can feel jealousy towards an object only when you 'personify' said object into a person.
89.31.193.233 on 2011-11-17 07:14:20

@58.7.165.141, you are jealous of that someone and not of their clothes.
67.171.13.66 on 2011-08-30 20:00:24

I guess this means that (for example) if I fear that my friends will love someone (more than they love me) because of that someone's clothes and I fear my friends will be taken from me, I can be jealous of that person's clothes?
58.7.165.141 on 2011-08-30 09:58:56