Learn English – Looking for a better term than ‘benign envy’ or ‘mudita’

single-word-requests

Often when I'm happy for someone's good fortune or success, I find myself using the words envious or envy.

In casual speech with friends, voice tone and familiarity help deliver my positive intent, but I don't like the negative connotation of the word – especially the part where it intends others harm.

Benign envy is a non-starter for me and mudita is far too obscure to use for my taste, despite being the closest word I know for the sentiment I wish to express.

Am I missing some obvious single words or phrases in more common usage than mudita that express a positive feeling i have that is directly related to the positive feelings of another? Shared joy is the closest literal phrase, but it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue for me.

Here is a simple diagram that maps the the state of two people’s happiness in relation to each other – envy, pity, mudita and schadenfreude. The other 3 words stand well alone and are defined by my happiness in relation to another's, but perhaps this is more that mudita needs to be adopted as schadenfreude has already been.

Am I missing a decent alternative to mudita?

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Best Answer

Are you in any way (even slightly) related to the person, or in any way (even slightly) responsible for their happiness? If so, kvell might work for you.

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