Meaning and Usage
The adjective '부럽다' expresses the feeling of envy or admiration toward someone else's possessions, qualities, or circumstances. It is commonly used in everyday conversation to show a positive kind of envy, often implying a wish to have what the other person has.
Common Contexts
You will often hear '부럽다' when talking about friends, family, or acquaintances who have something desirable, such as good relationships, success, or material goods.
Collocations and Patterns
- '부럽다' + noun (e.g., 좋은 친구가 부럽다): expressing envy about a specific thing or person.
- '부럽다' + verb stem + 는 것 (e.g., 여행하는 것이 부럽다): expressing envy about an action or state.
- '정말 부럽다': emphasizing strong envy.
Register and Politeness
'부럽다' is informal and commonly used in casual speech. To express envy politely, you might use '부럽습니다' or other polite forms.
Common Mistakes
Learners sometimes confuse '부럽다' with '부러워하다'. The difference is that '부럽다' is an adjective describing the speaker's feeling, while '부러워하다' is a verb meaning 'to feel envy'. For example, '나는 그가 부럽다' (I am envious of him) vs. '나는 그를 부러워한다' (I feel envy toward him).