đồng cảm
Definition
Noun:
- Sympathy: The feeling of understanding and sharing the emotional state of another person, often involving compassion for their suffering.
- Empathy: The capacity to intellectually and emotionally understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another.
Verb (to sympathize / to empathize):
- To sympathize: To feel or express compassion, pity, or sorrow for someone else's situation.
- To empathize: To actively understand and share the feelings of another by imagining oneself in their position.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- Tôi cảm thấy sự đồng cảm sâu sắc với hoàn cảnh của cô ấy. (I feel deep sympathy for her situation.)
- Sự đồng cảm là kỹ năng quan trọng cho một nhà lãnh đạo. (Empathy is an important skill for a leader.)
Verb:
- Chúng tôi hoàn toàn đồng cảm với nỗi đau của gia đình. (We completely sympathize with the family's grief.)
- Bác sĩ giỏi biết cách đồng cảm với bệnh nhân. (A good doctor knows how to empathize with patients.)
Advanced Usage
"sự đồng cảm": This noun phrase explicitly refers to "the feeling/state of empathy/sympathy."
- Sự đồng cảm của cô ấy khiến tôi cảm thấy được lắng nghe. (Her empathy made me feel heard.)
Used in formal or academic contexts, such as psychology, literature, or social discourse, to discuss emotional connection and understanding.
Variants and Related Words
Đồng điệu (adj/verb): To be in harmony or on the same wavelength; often used for intellectual or spiritual alignment rather than purely emotional sharing.
- Họ có suy nghĩ đồng điệu với nhau. (Their thoughts are in harmony.)
Cảm thông (verb/noun): A close synonym, meaning to sympathize or sympathy. It sometimes implies a slightly more active consolation.
- Tôi rất cảm thông với bạn. (I deeply sympathize with you.)
Synonyms
- Sympathy: Compassion, concern, commiseration.
- Empathy: Understanding, identification, rapport.
Related Idioms and Phrases
Có sự đồng cảm: To have empathy/sympathy.
- Hai người bạn thân có sự đồng cảm lạ thường. (The two close friends have an unusual empathy.)
Thiếu sự đồng cảm: To lack empathy.
- Lời phê bình đó cho thấy sự thiếu đồng cảm. (That criticism shows a lack of empathy.)