empathize
/ˈɛmpəˌθaɪz/verb
empathize is spelled E-M-P-A-T-H-I-Z-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “empathize vs sympathize” about 350 times a month (Bing, United States). As a verb, empathize means “to feel empathy for another person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in empathize?
| Letters | 9: E-M-P-A-T-H-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is empathize?
Empathize appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce empathize?
- US /ˈɛmpəˌθaɪz/
Empathize has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-empathize.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with empathize
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of empathize
- empathizes present, singular, he/she/it
- empathizing participle, present
- empathized participle, past
- empathise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does empathize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
to feel empathy for another person
empathize with someone
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Empathize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to feel empathy for another person:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compatir, s'apitoyer |
| German | mitfühlen, Mitgefühl haben, mitempfinden |
| Spanish | empatizar, sentir empatía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.