5 signs of how to know if a man is jealous without being a boyfriend –

Human relationships are not at all simple, and sometimes they can be completely confusing.

Jealousy is one of those elements that gives us clues about what another person feels about us, but it is not always expressed clearly.

Sometimes you simply need to know the meaning of some attitudes of a boy who is not your boyfriend, and that could be signs of jealousy, even if you are not sure.

How do I know if he is jealous? Why does he feel jealous if we are nothing? Is his jealousy proof that he has romantic interest in me? Why doesn’t he speak clearly to me?

We will answer these and other questions throughout the article. Keep reading and clear your doubts.

Why do you feel jealous even though he’s not your boyfriend?

Men are territorial by nature. We will see later that there are two basic types of jealousy that a man can have towards a woman, protective jealousy and romantic jealousy.

But, at the outset, we will say that it is enough for a boy to like you so that anything can make him jealous.

Regardless of whether or not he wants to have a romantic relationship with you, if he feels that you are paying more attention to another man, consciously or unconsciously he will become jealous and, no matter how much he tries to hide it, some of his attitudes will give him away.

Why do you hide your jealousy?

Admitting that they feel jealous is a kind of social suicide for many kids. They believe that if they let the way they feel show, they will lose any interest from the woman they like.

Furthermore, revealing jealousy also involves revealing romantic interest. And when they are not sure that this is mutual, that is equivalent to being at a disadvantage compared to you. In fact, it is much easier for a man to accept that he feels protective or brotherly jealousy than for him to accept that he feels romantic jealousy.

If you feel jealous, does that mean you like me?

Human beings are primates. And primates are mammals. Most mammalian species form communities in which there is an Alpha male, who has dominance and preference over the females in the herd.

Even if a female is not a sexual partner of the Alpha male, if she is part of his pack, he will defend her and try to prevent other males from approaching.

Perhaps this is a little less radical among human beings, but the basic principle is the same: if a man feels you are part of his pack, whether you are his friend, his sister, his cousin or his prospect, he will be jealous of other males. .

What remains now is to discover what the true cause of this jealousy is.

Difference between brotherly jealousy and romantic jealousy

Protective or brotherly jealousy is what we feel for people towards whom we have no love interest, but who are still an important part of our life. In men, territoriality and the need to protect come together to give rise to this type of jealousy.

The main figure for whom men feel brotherly jealousy is their sisters and other women in their family. These can also be extended to friends, and that is when the confusion begins, because a friend can be jealous in a fraternal or romantic way.

Protective jealousy is characterized by a focus on security. For example, maybe your brother or friend doesn’t want you to date a particular guy because she doesn’t know him and doesn’t know if you’ll be safe with him.

The problem is that one of the first things men who feel romantic jealousy try to do is disguise it as brotherly jealousy by arguing that they are only concerned about the safety of their friend, that is, you.

So that aspect by itself does not serve to determine the kind of jealousy we face. You need more clues.

Hint 1: Are you interested in the details or not?

When a man feels genuine brotherly jealousy, he will be upset that you interact with other males not “endorsed” by him, but he will not interrogate you or ask you to go into details. He will just assume that they are perverts who can hurt you and he will try to steer you away from that.

But if his jealousy is romantic and he is trying to pass it off as brotherly, rest assured that he will interrogate you about everything you did or didn’t do with other guys.

Then, he will use what you revealed to him as an “argument” to prove his point: it is not in your best interest to date so-and-so or perenganito anymore.

Hint 2: Do you take it personally?

Again, a guy who feels brotherly jealousy may be upset that you hang out with others, and tell you so openly, but he’s not going to take it personally. In other words, his relationship with you is not going to change and even if he is upset, he will not appear hurt or passive-aggressive.

When jealousy is romantic, it attacks one of the most vulnerable parts of the person, which explains why some men with whom you are not in a relationship suddenly appear suspicious, offended, cold or serious out of nowhere. They may also begin to appear more hostile.

Clue 3: Is he trying to show off?

Here is another of the essential clues to differentiate fraternal jealousy from romantic jealousy. If they are the first type, they will limit themselves to explaining why someone is not right for you. But if they are romantic, the objective will be to demonstrate with attitudes that they are worth more than the other.

Imagine that you are with some friends in a bar and a stranger comes to buy you a drink.

Suddenly, one of your friends comes and tells you that you shouldn’t accept because you don’t know him, and it’s “obvious” that he’s a nasty guy. You know he’s jealous, but you still don’t know if it’s brotherly or romantic jealousy.

If he simply makes his observation and nothing more, surely they are brotherly. But if he also goes and asks the bartender for two rounds of your favorite drink, he is trying to tell you that he is better, because his interest is romantic.

Things men do when they are jealous because they like you

Now that you know how to distinguish between jealousy for love and jealousy for mere appreciation or friendship, it’s time to explore the five most common attitudes that a man who is not your boyfriend but who is jealous will have.

1. They try to make you jealous

The first impulse is generally to “hit back” and try to reverse the roles so that you are the one who feels jealous.

They may try to do this by openly flirting with others in front of you or telling you anecdotes of dubious veracity but which have the objective of letting you know that they have a chance with many other women.

When the sexual interest is mutual, but there is not good communication, he could get jealous over anything that you are not even aware of, and you could fly into a rage if you see him flirting with others, even if he is only doing it to call. your attention. The result? total disaster.

Look closely at where his apparent seducer attitude comes from before determining that he doesn’t like you. He could be trying to send you the completely opposite message.

2. They criticize the other subject

We already mentioned this attitude superficially. A classic display of jealousy is the display of criticism. These may have the objective of making the other look ridiculous, questioning their masculinity or highlighting the dangers of allowing them into your life.

Normally, criticism for brotherly jealousy focuses on you being safe and no one taking advantage of you, but if the jealousy is romantic, the boy who is jealous of you in question will also try to take away the other’s merits and manhood in a symbolic way.

3. He is passive aggressive

This point has to do with what we mentioned about feeling hurt on a personal level. If a man does not have romantic jealousy, but rather brotherly jealousy, he will feel concern for you, but he will not feel that you are “betraying” him in some way.

If you feel like he’s more angry with you than with the situation, he’s probably jealous because he likes you.

4. Try to show off in some way

Trying to appear superior almost always accompanies jealousy due to romantic interest and can be expressed in many ways.

Maybe you try to make it clear that you are stronger, more skilled, smarter, or braver. Some guys try to be funnier and get your attention in a fun and assertive way, but unfortunately the vast majority end up adopting an attitude as if they are ready for a fight.

Direct physical dominance is, in fact, the most common way that male mammals express that they do not want to share a female sexually.

5. He questions you

Wanting to go into details is also a sign that it is a matter of loving territoriality and not brotherhood. Your siblings and friends are probably not at all interested in knowing what you did in the darkness of the cinema with someone else or what you said to each other in the privacy of a secluded table in a bar.

But the boy who likes you is interested in you. Even though every word you say makes him burn even more with jealousy, he can’t avoid that need to know exactly what kind of competition he’s up against.

As you can see, there are clues and signs that, when you look closely, can clearly tell you if you are being jealous, and what type of jealousy it is.

Share your experiences with us in the comments section! Was this article useful to you? What conclusion did you come to?

See also: