Suffix · forms nouns
From Greek "pathos" (feeling, suffering): indicates a deep emotion or a disease. Empathy, neuropathy.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The suffix -pathy comes from Greek "pathos" (feeling, suffering, disease) and appears in two types of word: 1. Emotional or perceptual states: empathy (feeling what another feels), sympathy (feeling alongside another), telepathy (feeling from a distance). 2. Medical conditions or disorders: neuropathy (nerve disease), cardiopathy (heart disease), sociopathy (antisocial personality disorder). Spanish: empathy → empatía, sympathy → simpatía, neuropathy → neuropatía.
One of the most important distinctions in emotional English: Sympathy /ˈsɪmpəθi/ = you feel sorrow or solidarity for someone, looking in from outside their experience. "I feel sympathy for your loss." Empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/ = you put yourself inside their experience, feeling what they feel. "I empathize — I went through the same thing." Rule: sym- = alongside (from outside); em- = within (inside the other's experience). In modern English, "empathy" is the more valued term in mental health, leadership and relationship contexts.
In medicine, -pathy signals a disease or dysfunction of an organ or system: neuropathy = peripheral nerve disorder cardiopathy = heart disease nephropathy = kidney disease myopathy = muscle disease encephalopathy = brain disease or disorder osteopathy = musculoskeletal medicine system homeopathy = alternative medicine system sociopathy = antisocial personality disorder
Root (feeling, perception or affected system) + pathy.
Family: -pathy (noun), -pathic (adjective: empathic, telepathic, sympathetic), -pathize (verb: empathize, sympathize). sympathy → sympathize → sympathetic. empathy → empathize → empathetic.
-pathy/pæθi/ · sounds like 'PATH-ee'
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
The key difference: empathy = "I feel what you feel" (inside). sympathy = "I feel for you" (from outside). Modern valued term in therapy and leadership: empathy.
"sympathy" and "empathy" end in -y. "empath" is informal and colloquial (used in some communities but not the formal term).
"Apathy" is stronger than just "being lazy": it means total indifference toward something that should matter. "Voter apathy" = people cannot even be bothered to vote.
A trick to remember it
-pathy = deep feeling or disease of a system. Emotions: empathy, sympathy, apathy. Medicine: neuropathy, cardiopathy, nephropathy. Key distinction: empathy (inside the experience) vs sympathy (compassion from outside).
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What is the difference between "empathy" and "sympathy"?
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"Neuropathy" is a disease of...
The suffix -pathy from Greek "pathos" (feeling, suffering): indicates a deep emotion or a disease. Empathy, neuropathy. In Spanish it usually maps to -patía.
The ending -pathy is pronounced /pæθi/ · sounds like 'PATH-ee'. For example, "empathy".
"em (within)" becomes "empathy". It is a typical example of the -pathy suffix.
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