Compassion is the deep awareness and sympathy for the suffering of others, accompanied by the desire to alleviate that suffering. People often search for compassion in different languages to better understand and express this universal emotion across cultures. This pursuit allows them to connect with others more profoundly and foster empathy on a global scale.
Compassion in different languages helps bridge cultural divides, while compassion in other languages in different countries reflects the shared human experience across the world.
Afrikaans: Medelye (meh-day-lee-uh)
Albanian: Mëshirë (meh-sheer-uh)
Amharic: ምሕረት (mih-ret)
Arabic: رحمة (rah-mah)
Armenian: Գթություն (guht-uh-tsoon)
Azerbaijani: Merhamət (mehr-ha-met)
Basque: Erruki (air-roo-kee)
Belarusian: Спагадлівасць (spa-gad-lee-vas)
Bengali: সহানুভূতি (sho-hah-noo-bhooti)
Bosnian: Suosjećanje (soo-oh-see-chan-ye)
Bulgarian: Съчувствие (sah-choov-stee-eh)
Burmese: သနားခြင်း (tha-nah-chin)
Catalan: Compassió (kohm-pah-see-oh)
Cebuano: Kaloo (kah-loh-oh)
Chinese (Mandarin): 同情 (tong-ching)
Croatian: Suosjećanje (soo-oh-see-chan-ye)
Czech: Soucit (soh-sit)
Danish: Medfølelse (med-furl-seh)
Dutch: Mededogen (may-deh-do-hen)
English: Compassion (kuhm-pash-uhn)
Estonian: Kaastunne (kahs-toon-neh)
Filipino: Habag (hah-bahg)
Finnish: Myötätunto (muh-tah-toon-toh)
French: Compassion (kohm-pah-see-ohn)
Georgian: თანაგრძნობა (tan-ah-grz-noh-bah)
German: Mitgefühl (mit-guh-fyool)
Greek: Συμπόνια (sim-poh-nia)
Gujarati: સંવેદના (sum-veh-day-na)
Haitian Creole: Konpasyon (kon-pah-see-on)
Hebrew: חמלה (khem-lah)
Hindi: सहानुभूति (suh-hah-noo-bhooti)
Hmong: Kev khuvleej (keh-koo-vleej)
Hungarian: Együttérzés (eh-dyut-air-zesh)
Icelandic: Samkennd (sam-ken-d)
Igbo: Ekwu okwukwe (eh-koo oh-koo-kweh)
Indonesian: Welas asih (weh-lahs ah-see)
Irish: Trócaire (troh-kur-uh)
Italian: Compassione (kohm-pah-syon-eh)
Japanese: 思いやり (oh-moy-ah-ree)
Javanese: Welas (weh-lahs)
Kannada: ಸಹಾನುಭೂತಿ (sah-hah-noo-bhooti)
Kazakh: Мейірімділік (may-ee-rim-dee-leek)
Khmer: ការអនុគ្រោះ (kah ah-noo-krooah)
Korean: 동정 (tong-jung)
Kurdish: Hêvî (hay-vee)
Kyrgyz: Боорукердик (boo-roo-ker-deek)
Lao: ຄວາມກະກວ່ານ (kwahm guh-gwaan)
Latvian: Līdzjūtība (leeds-yoo-tee-ba)
Lithuanian: Užuojauta (oo-zhoo-oh-you-tah)
Macedonian: Сочувство (soh-choov-stvoh)
Malagasy: Fangorahana (fan-goh-rah-hah-nah)
Malay: Belas kasihan (beh-lahs kah-see-han)
Malayalam: കരുണ (kah-roo-nah)
Maltese: Kompassjoni (kohm-pah-shon-ee)
Maori: Aroha (ah-roh-hah)
Marathi: करुणा (kah-roo-nah)
Mongolian: Энэрэл (en-er-el)
Nepali: करुणा (kah-roo-naa)
Norwegian: Medfølelse (med-furl-seh)
Pashto: مهرباني (mehr-bah-nee)
Persian: همدردی (ham-dardee)
Polish: Współczucie (vspooh-choo-cheh)
Portuguese: Compaixão (kohm-pai-shon)
Punjabi: ਦਇਆ (daya)
Romanian: Compasiune (kohm-pah-see-oon-eh)
Russian: Сострадание (suh-strah-da-nee-eh)
Samoan: Alofa (ah-loh-fah)
Serbian: Саосећање (sao-seh-chan-yeh)
Sinhala: කරුණාව (kah-roo-naa-vah)
Slovak: Súcit (soo-sit)
Slovenian: Sočutje (soh-choot-yeh)
Somali: Naxariis (nah-har-eess)
Spanish: Compasión (kohm-pah-see-ohn)
Swahili: Huruma (hoo-roo-mah)
Swedish: Medkänsla (med-shan-sla)
Tagalog: Awa (ah-wah)
Tamil: கருணை (kah-roo-nai)
Telugu: కరుణ (kah-roo-nah)
Thai: ความเห็นอกเห็นใจ (kwahm hen-ohk hen-jai)
Tibetan: སྙིང་རྗེ་ (shing-re)
Tigrinya: ምሕረት (mih-ret)
Turkish: Merhamet (mehr-hah-met)
Ukrainian: Співчуття (speev-choot-yah)
Urdu: رحم (rehm)
Uzbek: Mehribonlik (mehr-ee-bon-leek)
Vietnamese: Lòng trắc ẩn (long chuck un)
Welsh: Trugaredd (truh-gar-eth)
Xhosa: Uvelwano (oo-vel-wah-no)
Yiddish: רחמנות (rahch-mah-noos)
Yoruba: Anu (ah-noo)
Zulu: Uzwelo (oo-zway-loh)
Conclusion
Compassion is a universal human value expressed in different words and languages worldwide. Learning to say compassion in other languages in different countries fosters a sense of unity, understanding, and empathy across cultures. This linguistic exploration reminds us that, despite cultural differences, the desire to care for one another is a common thread that binds humanity.