empathie

\ɑ̃.pa.ti\

/\ɑ̃.pa.ti\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“empathie” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #13,585 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,585
frequency rank, French
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Capacité de comprendre, de ressentir les sentiments ou de se mettre à la place d’une autre personne.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

empathie vs empathique
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for empathie
PropertyValue
Headwordempathie
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɑ̃.pa.ti\
Letters8
Frequency rank#13,585
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “empathie” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). empathie lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for empathie is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɑ̃.pa.ti\. Corpus data places it at rank #13,585 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for empathie, with forms such as "emapthie", "emmpathie", and "empahtie". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "empathique", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is empathie, spelled E-M-P-A-T-H-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Capacité de comprendre, de ressentir les sentiments ou de se mettre à la place d’une autre personne.
  2. 2
    Dans la tradition phénoménologique, appréhension immédiate de l’affectivité d’autrui.
  3. 3
    Dans les sciences humaines, attitude envers autrui caractérisée par un effort de compréhension intellectuelle de l’autre, excluant tout entraînement affectif personnel (sympathie, antipathie) et tout jugement moral (caractéristique du sens historique, pénétration de cultures étrangères, techniques d’entretien, psychiatrie, etc.).

Synonyms

décentration

Antonyms

apathie

This word in other languages

empathy(English)empatía(Español)Einfühlungsvermögen(Deutsch)empatia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: emapthie,emmpathie,empahtie,empathei,empathhie,empatihe,empatthie,emppathie,emptahie,epmathie,mepathie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of empathie - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emapthie2emmpathie1empahtie2empathei2empathhie1empatihe2empatthie1emppathie1
Edit distance from "empathie"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "empathie"?
"empathie" is spelled E-M-P-A-T-H-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.pa.ti\.
What does "empathie" mean?
As a noun, "empathie" means: Capacité de comprendre, de ressentir les sentiments ou de se mettre à la place d’une autre personne.
What words are commonly confused with "empathie"?
"empathie" is commonly confused with "empathique". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "empathie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "empathie" is \ɑ̃.pa.ti\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "empathie" come from?
"empathie" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “empathie”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is E-M-P-A-T-H-I-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɑ̃.pa.ti\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “empathique” - see the side-by-side comparison. empathie vs empathique
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list