verb / noun HSK 4
tóng qíng
to sympathize with · to have compassion for · sympathy · compassion

Meaning

同情 means to feel sympathy or compassion for someone in difficulty or suffering. It expresses an emotional connection where you understand and share in another person's hardships. As a verb it means 'to sympathize with' and as a noun it means 'sympathy' or 'compassion'.

Usage

Native speakers use 同情 when expressing emotional understanding of someone's difficulties, pain, or misfortune. It carries a sincere, heartfelt tone and is commonly paired with objects like 同情他的遭遇 (sympathize with his situation). The phrase 值得同情 (deserving of sympathy) is very common.

Examples

  1. 01
    我很同情那些失去家园的人。
    hěn tóng qíng xiē shī jiā yuán de rén.
    I deeply sympathize with those who have lost their homes.
  2. 02
    她的遭遇值得同情
    de zāo zhí tóng qíng.
    Her experience deserves sympathy.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 同情
    tóng qíng xīn
    compassion, sympathy (heart)
  • 值得同情
    zhí tóng qíng
    deserving of sympathy
  • 表示同情
    biǎo shì tóng qíng
    to express sympathy
  • 深表同情
    shēn biǎo tóng qíng
    to express deep sympathy

Antonyms

Origin

The word literally means 'same feeling', combining 同 (same/together) and 情 (emotion/feeling), reflecting the idea of sharing or understanding another person's emotional state.

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