# 同病相怜

tóng bìng xiāng lián

Empathize because of shared hardship

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Those with the same illness pity one another

**Traditional Chinese:** 同病相憐

**Register:** Standard · expressive

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Describe sympathy grounded in similar experience.

Shared suffering does not ensure identical needs.

## Understanding the expression

People who have experienced a similar difficulty may understand each other without a long explanation. The illness in the literal image can become unemployment, rejection, or another shared hardship in modern usage. The phrase emphasizes mutual sympathy rather than pleasure in someone else’s suffering. Similar circumstances still affect people differently, so empathy works best alongside listening. It should not become an assumption that one person already knows everything another needs.

## Examples

两人都失业了，同病相怜。

### Traditional Chinese

兩人都失業了，同病相憐。

liǎng rén dōu shī yè le ， tóng bìng xiāng lián 。

Both had lost their jobs and sympathized with each other.

同样没能入选的队友同病相怜。

### Traditional Chinese

同樣沒能入選的隊友同病相憐。

tóng yàng méi néng rù xuǎn de duì yǒu tóng bìng xiāng lián 。

The teammates who were both not selected sympathized with each other.

她们照顾病人多年，颇有同病相怜之感。

### Traditional Chinese

她們照顧病人多年，頗有同病相憐之感。

tā men zhào gù bìng rén duō nián ， pō yǒu tóng bìng xiāng lián zhī gǎn 。

After years of caring for sick people, they felt sympathy through shared hardship.

他与落选的朋友同病相怜。

### Traditional Chinese

他與落選的朋友同病相憐。

tā yǔ luò xuǎn de péng yǒu tóng bìng xiāng lián 。

He empathized with his friend, who had also not been selected.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E5%90%8C%E7%97%85%E7%9B%B8%E6%86%90)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=845&webMd=1&la=0)

## Keep exploring

- [同床异梦 tóng chuáng yì mèng Appear united while pursuing different aims ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/tong-chuang-yi-meng)

- [同甘共苦 tóng gān gòng kǔ Share both good and hard times ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/tong-gan-gong-ku)

- [痛心疾首 tòng xīn jí shǒu Feel deep distress or bitter regret ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/tong-xin-ji-shou)

- [同舟共济 tóng zhōu gòng jì Work together through difficulty ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/tong-zhou-gong-ji)

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