envie
French, noun
envie is spelled E-N-V-I-E (5 letters) and appears 155 times per million words in written French, the 528th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Envie is a French feminine noun meaning “desire, lust, urge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of envier. With an accent, envié is a different word: “past participle of envier”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Chagrin ou haine que l’on ressent du bonheur, des succès, des avantages d’autrui”.
What does envie mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininedesire, lust, urge
- 2
feminineappetite, craving
- 3
feminineenvy
- 4
femininebirthmark
- 5
femininehangnail
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of envier
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Chagrin ou haine que l’on ressent du bonheur, des succès, des avantages d’autrui. 2. Sentiment de vouloir jouir d’un avantage pareil à celui d’autrui. 3. Désir, volonté. 4. L’odieux d’une chose.
adjective: 1. Qui est l’objet de convoitises, d’envies.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of envie
- envies plural
- enviée feminine
- enviés masculine plural
- enviées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to envie
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is envie in French?
envie appears 155 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).