There are two different ways to say ‘Jealous’ in Thai, each with a different meaning. As English does not differentiate between the two meanings, I’d like to explain them both to better help you learn them.

The first type of Thai ‘jealous’ has a meaning closer to ‘envy’. It is when you are jealous that someone has something that you don’t. The Thai equivalent is อิจฉา, or et1-chaa5. A few examples are:

ผมอิจฉาว่าเค้ารวยมาก  I’m jealous that he is very rich.

น่าอิจฉาเลยว่าพี่ไม่ต้องทำงานวันนี้  It’s so envious that you don’t need to work today.

ความอิจฉา  jealousy

ทำไมคนเราถึงต้องอิจฉาคนอื่น?  Why am I so jealous of other people?

ผู้ชายมีการอิจฉากันหรือไม่?  Are men jealous of other men?

The second type of ‘jealous’ is *much* more commonly spoken in Thai. It is the romantic type of jealous, where a person feels threatened by either a real or imaginary love rival. If you’re a guy and have dated a Thai girl, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about . . . and if you don’t know, watch a Thai soap opera for about a minute and you’ll see how scary it can get . . . ok it’s not that bad . . .

Anyway, the word is หึง, or heung5, and is generally considered a negative emotion. To emphasize that it’s a negative emotion being expressed, add the word ขี้ in front. A few examples are:

หึงไหม?  Are you jealous?

อย่าขี้หึงนะ  Don’t be so jealous!

ผู้หญิงขี้หึงจะแสดงออกมาอย่างไงครับ? What are the key signs that a woman is jealous?

ผู้ชายคิดยังไงกับผู้หญิงขี้หึง?  What do guys think about overly jealous women?

ผู้หญิงส่วนใหญ่ขี้หึง  Most women are overly jealous.