Empathy and Sympathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, genuinely putting yourself in their shoes to see things from their perspective. Sympathy, on the other hand, involves feeling concern or pity for someone’s situation, often accompanied by expressions of care or support. While empathy fosters deep emotional connection by experiencing others’ emotions, sympathy tends to be a more distant acknowledgment of their hardship. Both are compassionate responses, but empathy aligns more with emotional understanding, and sympathy emphasizes caring and compassion for others’ suffering.