Empathy is the ability to understand and share what someone else is feeling. When you have empathy for a friend who's sad about losing a pet, you can actually imagine how that sadness feels, almost as if you're experiencing a bit of it yourself.

Empathy goes deeper than sympathy, which is feeling sorry for someone. If your classmate fails a test they studied hard for, sympathy means you feel bad for them. Empathy means you can put yourself in their shoes and sense their disappointment, frustration, or embarrassment because you remember how you felt in a similar situation.

Scientists believe empathy helps humans work together and form strong communities. When you see someone struggling with heavy books in the hallway, empathy helps you understand their difficulty and makes you want to help. When you read a novel and feel nervous for a character facing danger, that's empathy too: your mind is sharing their fear even though you know it's just a story.

Some people seem naturally empathetic, quickly picking up on others' emotions. Others need to practice paying attention to facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language to develop their empathy. Either way, empathy helps us be better friends, teammates, and family members because we can respond to what others truly need, not just what we assume they need.