sympathy vs empathy

The ending of sympathy and empathy comes from the same greek word, pathos, that means feeling. Sym- means together/the same, and em- means in. This means that sympathy can be translated as having the same feeling as the other person, while empathy is being in the feeling of the other person. The strength of empathy is to continue being yourself, feeling your feelings, while still being with the other person letting them feel what they need at this moment.