Meaning and usage guide
empathy vs sympathy
Meaning, usage, and examples
Empathy means understanding or sharing another person’s feelings from their point of view. Sympathy means care or concern for what they are experiencing.
How to choose
Choose the word by the kind of connection
The most useful distinction is not whether you care—it is whether you are describing understanding or concern.
Understanding a perspective
Use empathy when someone recognizes or tries to understand another person’s feelings and point of view.
Her experience gave her empathy for new students.
Expressing care or sorrow
Use sympathy when someone communicates concern, compassion, or sorrow about another person’s difficulty.
We sent a card to express our sympathy.
Empathize and sympathize
Empathize with means understand someone’s feelings; sympathize with means feel or express concern for them.
I empathize with her frustration and sympathize with her situation.
Direct answer
What is the difference?
Empathy centers on understanding someone’s emotional experience, sometimes by imagining yourself in their position. Sympathy centers on feeling concern, compassion, or sorrow for them. The ideas can overlap, but empathy moves toward their perspective while sympathy expresses your response to it.
Optional listening · American English
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Each term has female and male playback at natural speed. Listen without looking, then compare the recordings with the IPA.
Word 1
empathy
noun
The ability to understand or share another person’s feelings or perspective.
US pronunciation
/ˈɛmpəθi/
UK IPA
/ˈempəθi/
Hear two natural voices
Word 2
sympathy
noun
Feelings of care, concern, or sorrow for another person’s situation.
US pronunciation
/ˈsɪmpəθi/
UK IPA
/ˈsɪmpəθi/
Hear two natural voices
Listen in context
6 example sentences
Context makes meaning, grammar, and natural rhythm easier to understand. Every sentence has its own playback.
Examples with
empathy
- Good doctors listen with empathy.
- Her empathy helped the new student feel understood.
- Reading widely can build empathy for unfamiliar lives.
Examples with
sympathy
- Please accept our deepest sympathy.
- He felt sympathy for the stranded travelers.
- The message expressed sympathy after the loss.
Related search questions
Common follow-up questions
- What is the difference between empathize and sympathize?
- To empathize is to understand or share someone’s feelings; to sympathize is to feel or express concern for what they are going through.
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