Or
Empathetic Understanding, is the ability to
intuit the emotional experiencing of another because one has, at one point or another, experienced the same thing oneself.
Sympathy is thinking about someone, but
empathy is actually "Knowing" the emotion the person is experiencing, or going through.... having gone though the same emotion oneself.
When I see a fat child, being made fun of, I "know" how he or she is feeling, because I felt the exact same
emotion when I was young - my "knowing" is
empathy.
When I see a parent pulling a little child who's legs are
exhausted, and the child is crying with pain, I "know" what that child is experiencing. I experience empathy for that child.