empatía
/empaˈtia/feminine
Empathy in Spanish is empatía.
The noun empatía refers to the capacity to understand another person's point of view. You can also express the concept of empathy informally by using the phrase ponerte en mi lugar, which means 'to put yourself in my place'. Additionally, the verb Solidarizarse is used to describe showing solidarity and empathy towards someone's situation.
Meaning: capacity to understand another person's point of view (noun)
Which one should you use?
The adjective forms change based on gender: use empático for masculine subjects and empática for feminine subjects.
How does it change in a sentence?
As a feminine noun, empatía is used with the feminine article la (e.g., la empatía).
How do you pronounce it?
/empaˈtia/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not treat empatía as a masculine noun. It must always be treated as feminine, so use la empatía instead of el empatía.
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, calling someone empático can be perceived as a clinical or psychological description rather than a warm personality trait.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, expressing empathy is often tied to the concept of sentir (to feel) rather than just 'understanding' a perspective intellectually.
- While empatía is the standard term, Spanish speakers often use the phrase ponerse en los zapatos de otro, which means 'to put oneself in another's shoes'.
Examples in context
- A Tom le falta empatía.Tom lacks empathy.This sentence shows how to express that someone lacks empatía.Tatoeba #1520846 by marcelostockle, translation #1520741 by Spamster
- Nada es más importante que la empatía.Nothing is more important than empathy.This sentence emphasizes the importance of la empatía.Tatoeba #991057 by Shishir, translation #1335523 by CM
- Me hace gracia que digan que hemos de aceptar que las lenguas mueran. Qué fácil es decir esto cuando la tuya está bien viva. En fin, es una falta de empatía absoluta.It's funny that they say that we have to accept that languages die. How easy that is to say when yours is so alive. All in all it's a complete lack of empathy.This sentence describes a situation as an absolute lack of empatía.Tatoeba #9731466 by mialiesperantistas, translation #9770546 by helloroto
- entiendo cómo te sientesI understand how you feel
- me pongo en tu lugarI put myself in your shoes
- es normal que te sientas asíIt's normal to feel that way
- tienes todo el derecho a estar tristeYou have every right to be sad
- cuenta conmigoCount on me
- estoy aquí para ayudarteI'm here to help you
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Mateo are discussing a difficult coworker at the office.
- ElenaÉl no entiende cómo nos sentimos.He doesn't understand how we feel.
- MateoEs cierto, le falta mucha empatía.It's true, he lacks a lot of empathy.
- ElenaEs difícil trabajar con alguien así.It is difficult to work with someone like that.
- MateoTienes razón, Elena.You are right, Elena.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “empathy” translations and entries empatía, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
