Is it sympathy or empathy that means you feel sorry for somebody BECAUSE you have PERSONALLY felt the same...?

Question

Is it sympathy or empathy that means you feel sorry for somebody BECAUSE you have PERSONALLY felt the same...?

So then the one that isnt the above would be feeling sorry, but you havent actually been in the situation, correct?

Answer 1

Sympathy is when you feel sorry because someone's in a bad way. In my case I might sympathise with a man who has been injured when he was at war. I am not male and I have never been in a war, but I understand he would be feeling pretty bad about the whole thing.

Empathy is when you know exactly how they feel because it's happened to you as well. My friend is pregnant and feeling miserable because she's in her last weeks of the pregnancy and she's had enough. I've been pregnant and I know exactly what she means.

Answer 2

empathy when you've gone through it

sympathy when you can understand and relate, but not personally experienced it

Answer 3

Empathy is where you have an idea of what the person feels (especially if you have felt the same).  Sympathy doesn't necessarily mean you've never gone through the same thing, but it means feeling sorry for someone without necessarily knowing or remembering how it feels to be in their position.

Answer 4

Empathy is the word you want.

empathy - identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives.

sympathy - a feeling of pity or sorrow for a person in trouble

Answer 5

Sympathy is feeling for someone, empathy is feeling along with them.

Feeling sorry for someone is sympathy.  What you're feeling is not the same as what the other person is feeling.  Empathy is having the same feeling.  

For example, if I'm angry about a bad situation, you might feel sorry for me -- especially if you've had the same thing happen to you.  That's sympathy.  On the other hand, if I'm angry about a bad situation, and you're angry along with me (even when you're not in the same situation) -- that's empathy.  

If I'm sad, and you're sad because I'm sad, it's not always easy to tell if  what you're feeling is empathy or sympathy.  You might be sharing my sadness or you might be feeling your own sadness because of my sadness.

But, bottom line, you said "feel sorry for".  That's sympathy.  Empathy would have to be "feel sorry with."

Answer 6

With empathy, you identify with the other person's grief because you have already faced a similar situation and felt similar sentiments from the experience.

Answer 7

Empathy is feeling the pain on a deeper, more personal level. Sympathy is understanding it intellectually and imagining how you would feel in their situation without personal experience.