What does envie in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word envie in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use envie in French.

The word envie in French means longing, desire, envy, jealousy, wish, desire, yen, urge, desire, hangnail, alive, envy, covet, realise a wish, want to do , feel like doing , fancy doing, want, want, feel sick, feel nauseous, wish could do , wish that could do, really want to do, have a yen for , have a craving for, have an overwhelming desire to do, drool with envy, be dying to do, it's tempting, The urge came over him/her suddenly, He/She had a sudden urge to do it, He/She suddenly got the urge, it's not that I don't want to, be dying to do, make want the same, make want some of the same, make want to do, make want to do, make nauseous, make feel sick, make sick, give the desire to do, penis envy, need to go, sudden impulse, tempt, turn on, It is better to be envied than pitied, It is better to inspire envy than pity, be dying to do, get the sudden urge to do. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word envie

longing, desire

nom féminin (convoitise)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
L'enfant regardait les bonbons avec envie.
The child was looking at the sweets with longing.

envy, jealousy

nom féminin (jalousie)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

wish, desire, yen

nom féminin (désir de [qch])

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
J'ai envie de partir au soleil. Ce n'est pas l'envie qui me manque d'apprendre le japonais, mais le temps, malheureusement.
I have a yen to go somewhere sunny. It's not the desire to learn Japanese that I'm lacking, but the time, unfortunately.

urge, desire

nom féminin (besoin naturel)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les enfants furent pris d'une grosse envie de faire pipi quelques minutes après être sortis de la maison.
ⓘCette phrase n'est pas une traduction de la phrase originale. She had a craving for strawberries when she was pregnant.

hangnail

nom féminin (bout de peau autour de l'ongle)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Mieux vaut ne pas arracher les envies, il est préférable de les couper.

alive

locution adjectivale (vivant)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")

envy

verbe transitif (éprouver de l'envie)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Il envie son ami d'avoir si bien réussi.
He envies his friend for being so successful.

covet

verbe transitif (désirer)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Il envie la place de Premier Ministre.
He covets the position of Prime Minister.

realise a wish

locution verbale (satisfaire un désir) (UK)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")

want to do , feel like doing , fancy doing

locution verbale (être motivé pour faire [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
J'ai envie de partir en Italie pour les vacances.
I want to go to Italy for the holidays.

want

locution verbale (ressentir un besoin)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
J'ai envie d'une glace.
I want an ice cream.

want

locution verbale (vouloir faire l'amour avec [qqn]) (sexually)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
J'ai envie de toi !
I want you!

feel sick, feel nauseous

locution verbale (avoir la nausée)

Je ne me sens pas bien, j'ai envie de vomir.

wish could do , wish that could do

locution verbale (désirer [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
J'ai envie que mes vacances soient prolongées.
I wish my holiday was longer.

really want to do

locution verbale (vouloir vraiment faire [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
J'ai très envie de prendre 4 semaines de vacances aux Seychelles. L'employé mécontent avait très envie de dire ses quatre vérités à son patron.
The unhappy employee badly wanted to give his boss a piece of his mind.

have a yen for , have a craving for

locution verbale (avoir très envie de)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

have an overwhelming desire to do

locution verbale (familier (avoir très envie de faire [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

drool with envy

locution verbale (figuré (envier)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il bavait d'envie devant la réussite affichée de son collègue.

be dying to do

locution verbale (figuré (désirer grandement faire [qch]) (figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Le jeune homme brûlait d'envie de retrouver sa bien-aimée.

it's tempting

(c'est tentant)

The urge came over him/her suddenly, He/She had a sudden urge to do it, He/She suddenly got the urge

(familier (c'est venu soudainement)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Luc est parti aux champignons, ça lui a pris comme une envie de pisser !

it's not that I don't want to

(j'ai bien envie de faire [qch])

I'd like to, but I just haven't got time this week.

be dying to do

(familier (vouloir fortement faire [qch]) (figurative, informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Fabien crève d'envie de sortir avec Julie.

make want the same, make want some of the same

locution verbale (tenter, générer un désir)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Quand je vois comment Fabienne et Éric sont heureux avec leur fille, ça donne envie.
When I see how happy Fabienne and Eric are with their daughter, it makes me want the same.

make want to do

locution verbale (tenter, générer un désir)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Quand je vois comment Fabienne et Éric sont heureux avec leur fille, ça donne envie de faire des enfants.
When I see how happy Fabienne and Eric are with their daughter, it makes me want to have children.

make want to do

locution verbale (tenter, générer un désir)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Quand j'ai vu Led Zeppelin sur scène, ça m'a donné envie de monter mon groupe de rock.
When I saw Led Zeppelin on stage, it made me want to get my own rock band together.

make nauseous, make feel sick

locution verbale (donner la nausée)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

make sick

locution verbale (figuré (écœurer)

give the desire to do

locution verbale (motiver [qqn] à faire [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
C'est ce professeur qui lui a donné l'envie d'étudier la physique.
It was that teacher that gave him the desire to study physics.

penis envy

nom féminin (concept freudien, frustration féminine)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

need to go

nom féminin (besoin d'uriner) (informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Elle a toujours une envie pressante au moment de partir.
She always needs to go when it's time to leave.

sudden impulse

nom féminin (besoin subit)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

tempt

locution verbale (tenter)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Une telle vie de rêve fait envie. // Cette pâtisserie me fait très envie.

turn on

locution verbale (exciter le désir) (sexual)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
Le train de vie de cette star me fait envie. // Avec cette lingerie, tu me fais envie !

It is better to be envied than pitied, It is better to inspire envy than pity

(il est préférable de faire des envieux)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

be dying to do

(figuré (avoir très envie de faire [qch]) (figurative, informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Avec cette chaleur, je meurs d'envie de piquer une tête dans l'eau.

get the sudden urge to do

(vouloir soudainement faire [qch]) (subject/object inversion)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il a pris l'envie à Thomas de partir en week-end à Barcelone vendredi midi ! Il a pris à Natacha l'envie d'aller se baigner juste après manger.

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