CJK Character 羨

It means wanting what someone else has, usually with admiration. Modern Chinese commonly uses it in 羨慕 (simplified: 羡慕): you admire or long for another person's good fortune, skill, or possession. The feeling can be warm or wistful; it is not automatically hostile jealousy.

The character has an old, debated trail. One early dictionary glosses it as greed or craving, while another database records an oracle-bone precursor 㳄 linked to saliva and a small-seal 羨 discussed with 羊. Treat the sheep-and-drool image as a memory aid, not a settled origin.

Classical Chinese also uses 羨 for overflow, surplus, or going beyond a measure. Japanese keeps the emotional sense in 羨む and 羨ましい, plus older compounds such as 羨道, a passage leading to a tomb. The same written form does not guarantee the same reading or period.

Someone sent me 羨 — admiration or jealousy?

Usually admiration or longing; jealousy needs extra context. Dictionary usage treats 羨慕 as admiring or longing for something, with 嫉妒 and 妒忌 as the contrasting words for hostile jealousy. If someone sends only 羨, treat it as an incomplete clue and check the surrounding words, language, and target.

The clearest everyday wording is 羨慕你: admiration or envy of what you have. 羨 alone is not enough evidence of resentment.

Why do I see 羨 and 羡?

They are traditional and simplified forms of the same character. Traditional Chinese writes 羨; simplified Chinese writes 羡. That changes the written form, not the Mandarin reading or the core meaning in 羨慕.

Japanese is a separate track: 羨む means to envy, while 羨道 names a passage leading to a tomb. Displayed shapes can also vary with the device font and script locale. This is a typed character, not vendor emoji artwork.