Usage note
同情的意思是理解别人的痛苦，并想帮助他们。
Tóngqíng de yìsi shì lǐjiě biérén de tòngkǔ, bìng xiǎng bāngzhù tāmen.
Sympathize means to understand others' pain and want to help them.
Context note
当朋友难过时，我们可以用同情来表达关心。
Dāng péngyou nánguò shí, wǒmen kěyǐ yòng tóngqíng lái biǎodá guānxīn.
When a friend is sad, we can use sympathize to show care.
5 examples
我同情那只受伤的小鸟。
wǒ tóng qíng nà zhī shòu shāng de xiǎo niǎo。
I sympathize with that injured little bird.
她同情同学丢了书包。
tā tóng qíng tóng xué diū le shū bāo。
She sympathizes with her classmate who lost the backpack.
老师同情生病的孩子。
lǎo shī tóng qíng shēng bìng de hái zi。
The teacher sympathizes with the sick child.
我们同情流浪的小猫。
wǒ men tóng qíng liú làng de xiǎo māo。
We sympathize with the stray kitten.
他同情朋友考试没考好。
tā tóng qíng péng yǒu kǎo shì méi kǎo hǎo。
He sympathizes with his friend who didn't do well on the test.
5 mini stories
小明看到小狗淋雨，很同情它。他给小狗撑伞。
xiǎo míng kàn dào xiǎo gǒu lín yǔ， hěn tóng qíng tā。 tā gěi xiǎo gǒu chēng sǎn。
Xiao Ming saw a puppy getting wet in the rain and sympathized with it. He held an umbrella for the puppy.
小红同情摔倒的弟弟。她扶他起来。
xiǎo hóng tóng qíng shuāi dǎo de dì di。 tā fú tā qǐ lái。
Xiao Hong sympathized with her little brother who fell. She helped him up.
老师同情没带午饭的学生。她分享了自己的食物。
lǎo shī tóng qíng méi dài wǔ fàn de xué shēng。 tā fēn xiǎng le zì jǐ de shí wù。
The teacher sympathized with the student who didn't bring lunch. She shared her own food.
我们同情迷路的小女孩。我们带她找妈妈。
wǒ men tóng qíng mí lù de xiǎo nǚ hái。 wǒ men dài tā zhǎo mā ma。
We sympathized with the lost little girl. We took her to find her mom.
他同情受伤的兔子。他给它包扎伤口。
tā tóng qíng shòu shāng de tù zi。 tā gěi tā bāo zā shāng kǒu。
He sympathized with the injured rabbit. He bandaged its wound.
Mini dialogue
同情生病的朋友
A
小明生病了，不能来上学。
Xiǎo Míng shēngbìng le, bù néng lái shàngxué.
Xiao Ming is sick and can't come to school.
B
我很同情他，希望他快点好起来。
Wǒ hěn tóngqíng tā, xīwàng tā kuài diǎn hǎo qǐlái.
I sympathize with him, I hope he gets better soon.
同情流浪猫
A
那只小猫没有家，真可怜。
Nà zhī xiǎo māo méiyǒu jiā, zhēn kělián.
That kitten has no home, so pitiful.
B
是啊，我很同情它。
Shì a, wǒ hěn tóngqíng tā.
Yes, I really sympathize with it.
Related words and contrasts
similar
可怜
kě lián
pitiful
Both express feeling sorry for someone.
related
理解
lǐ jiě
understand
Sympathy often involves understanding others' feelings.
opposite
冷漠
lěng mò
indifferent
Opposite of showing sympathy.