sympathy
Definitions
Feeling of pity, sorrow, or understanding for someone else's trouble or suffering
同情，怜悯（对他人的不幸或痛苦）
Agreement with or support for an opinion, cause, or side
赞同，支持（某种观点、事业或立场）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedsym- (together) + path (feeling) = 'feeling together with' someone. You feel alongside another person's sorrow without necessarily living it yourself — that outside-looking-in quality is what separates sympathy from empathy.
Root path still carries 58 more wordsCommon Collocations
- 1.express sympathy表达同情／慰问
- 2.deep sympathy深切的同情
- 3.sympathy strike声援罢工
- 4.in sympathy with与……产生共鸣／支持……
Example Sentences
- 1.
She sent a card to express her sympathy after his mother died.
- 2.
I have no sympathy for people who cheat and then complain.
- 3.
The workers came out on strike in sympathy with the miners.
Easily Confused
sympathy vs empathy — Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone from the outside ('I'm so sorry for your loss'). Empathy is feeling as them, imagining their experience from the inside. You send sympathy; you show empathy. If you've never been through it but still feel for them → sympathy.
Synonym Comparison
- sympathy — feeling sorry for someone's trouble, from the outside
- empathy — sharing the feeling from the inside, as if you were them
- compassion — sympathy plus a pull toward helping; warmer, more active
- pity — can sound condescending, looking down on someone
- condolence — formal sympathy specifically over a death