Empathy Difference. ... In general, 'sympathy' is when you share the feelings of another; 'empathy' is when you understand the feelings of another but do not necessarily share them.

Can you be empathetic without being sympathetic?

Empathetic and sympathetic are similar words, but they're not the same. While being empathetic means putting yourself easily and completely in another person's shoes, being sympathetic means showing concern for someone when something bad happens to them.

What does it mean to have empathy but not sympathy?

Empathy means experiencing someone else's feelings. ... ' It requires an emotional component of really feeling what the other person is feeling. Sympathy, on the other hand, means understanding someone else's suffering.