empathy
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empathy
The ability to recognize, understand, and share another person's feelings, thoughts, and motives. A synonym for empathy.
In sozialen Berufen ist Einfühlungsvermögen eine entscheidende Eigenschaft.
In social professions, empathy is a crucial quality.
The word is a compound made up of 'Einfühlung' (empathy) and 'Vermögen' (ability). 'Einfühlung' comes from the verb 'sich einfühlen' (to empathize), and 'Vermögen' here means 'ability' or 'capacity', not 'wealth'.
Gutes Einfühlungsvermögen bedeutet, die Perspektive anderer zu verstehen.
Good empathy means understanding other people's perspectives.
'Einfühlungsvermögen' (empathy) is often combined with the verbs 'haben' (to have), 'zeigen' (to show), or 'besitzen' (to possess). You can have 'viel' (a lot of), 'großes' (great), 'wenig' (little), or 'kein' (no) empathy.
Er zeigte großes Einfühlungsvermögen, als er mir bei meinem Problem zuhörte.
He showed great empathy when he listened to me talk about my problem.
When you want to express whom someone has empathy for, use the preposition 'für' (for) followed by the accusative.
Sie hat viel Einfühlungsvermögen für die Sorgen ihrer Freunde.
She has a lot of empathy for her friends' worries.
compassion
Mitgefühl means showing compassion, especially for another person's suffering. Einfühlungsvermögen is broader: it helps you understand other people's feelings, thoughts, and motives without them having to be suffering. Use Mitgefühl for suffering and Einfühlungsvermögen for understanding others in general.
Durch ihr Einfühlungsvermögen verstand sie sofort, warum der neue Schüler nervös war.
Thanks to her empathy, she immediately understood why the new student was nervous.
Für die trauernde Kollegin zeigte das ganze Team viel Mitgefühl.
The whole team showed the grieving colleague a great deal of compassion.
