What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?

Empathy is when you feel what someone else feels, like you're wearing their feelings; sympathy is when you feel for someone, like you're giving them a hug from afar.

Imagine you have a best friend who just spilled juice all over their favorite shirt.

• If you feel empathy, it's like the juice spill happens to you too, you feel sad and maybe even a little embarrassed.
• If you feel sympathy, you're still happy in your clean clothes, but you give your friend a big smile and say, “That’s okay! I’m here for you!”

Empathy is like having a shared feeling with someone.

If your friend is laughing, you laugh too; if they’re crying, you cry too, it's like sharing the same feelings.

Sympathy is when you care about someone else’s feelings, but you don’t feel them yourself.

You might say, “That’s tough!” or offer your friend a tissue, it's a kind and caring feeling, but not the same as being in their shoes.

So empathy is feeling with, sympathy is feeling for. Both are wonderful!