Which to use
“empathic” is an adjective and “empathy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,603
- “empathic” frequency rank
- #10,844
- “empathy” frequency rank
- 58447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empathic | empathy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Showing or expressing empathy. | Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set empathic and empathy apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
empathic and empathy form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empathic is recorded at frequency rank #47,603, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɛmˈpæθɪk/. empathy is at rank #10,844, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛmpəθi/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 58447, this pair ranks #112,524 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empathic" and "empathy" be used interchangeably?
Remembering empathic vs empathy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “empathic”; for a noun, it's “empathy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “empathic” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable