妒忌
dù jì · HSK 7
to be jealous of
😤 dù jì sounds like DO GEE — do gee, that burns!
Both characters share the woman radical 女, reflecting an old bias that jealousy was a feminine trait. 妒 (dù) = woman + household, 忌 (jì) = self + heart — resentment sitting in your own heart.
忌 — heart 心 + self 己 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 心 ('heart/mind') gives the meaning, while 己 ('self') supplies the sound. The heart component points to inner feelings like dread or aversion, yielding senses such as 'to fear,' 'to avoid,' or 'taboo.' From there it extended to 'jealousy' and 'anniversary of a death.'