Jealous of describes two feelings: wanting what someone else has, and fearing that someone may take a partner's love or attention. In conversation, jealous often expresses light, friendly envy: I'm so jealous! If you mean only envy, with no hint of romantic jealousy, envious is the better word.
Want to remember jealous of?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
be jealous of + person/thing; be jealous of someone's + noun; get jealous (easily)
- My younger brother gets jealous when our parents praise my exam results.
- I'm a bit jealous of colleagues who can work from home every day.
- He was jealous of his girlfriend's best friend and hated their long phone calls.
What changed
First versionShe is jealous to her older sister, who has just bought a flat.
RevisionShe is jealous of her older sister, who has just bought a flat.
To may seem natural after jealous, but jealous connects the person or thing only through of: jealous of her older sister.
Envious of is only about envy: She was envious of his salary. Jealous is broader: it covers both jealousy about a partner and envy. If you don't say who or what you envy, no preposition is needed: He gets jealous easily.
Your turn
Your photos from Japan look amazing; I'm honestly a bit jealous ___ your trip!
Show the answer
of — Jealous connects the thing you envy through of. To may look possible here, but English does not say jealous to your trip.
Think of someone you once envied. In one sentence with jealous of, name the person, what they had and why you wanted it.
I was jealous of my flatmate's fluent Spanish because I had studied it for years and still couldn't hold a simple conversation.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.